Let Us Cling Together
by Arcana Force XIII 'Thanatos
Summary: The infection has begun to spread. There is still time, but action must be taken quickly.
1. Chapter 1

In a fun and new (read: desperate) way to throw off the shackles of writer's block, I've decided to write a new Yugioh story featuring the characters submitted by you, the reviewers. I'm sure most people know how these go, but in case you're new to this (and don't worry, we all were once) I'll go over the rules. Give me an OC and follow the template below. I'm open to all OCs. I can make anything fit. Feel like making a Mary Sue? Go for it. I won't keep the sureness, but it'll give me lots of room to work. Feel like giving me a dueling animal? Why not! GX and ZeXal already did that; why not get it on the fun? On the (very unlikely) chance I get swarmed with OCS, I might have to cut some off so please, put plenty of effort into your wonderful creations. The more I like it, the more screen time it gets. Here is the template:

Name: Take a guess what goes here! I bet you can't get it right~!

Age: Anything really. Tournaments will happen and school will only be used for relevant characters, so you're welcome to make any aged OC you want.

Appearance: Goes without saying. If school/work/dueling outfit is different from normal then please include them as well.

Personality: A big one! If you're going to put effort into any of these, this is it. Everyone likes interesting characters.

Backstory: Again, effort. Don't go with "Waah! My parents are dead! Waah!" Think of something original and fun. A backstory doesn't have to be horrific and bloody you know. It can be if you want (And dead parents are some of the best kind) but even then give a little variety. If you've written a lot before, then use this as a chance to do something different!

Deck: It's not YGO without dueling! Though given some of the fanfics out there, you might not think that. Any deck you want, though obviously no holy cards. A full list would be nice (especially if you're using your own made up cards) but that's optional. Just the name of an archetype will give me a good idea. Riding duels will be a thing in this story. As for Numbers…not sure yet. I think I'll make that a thing later.

Hobbies, likes, dislikes, trivia; Anything else you think I should know to make them a nice, well-rounded character. Again, weird is not necessarily bad.

Spirit Partner: Not required but encouraged as the Spirit World will be a plot point as you can see below. Obviously something related to the OC's deck, as well as their personality.

The setting will be in a city, much like Domino City though not necessarily that exact place. The setting will change over time as the plot develops, but it will mostly remain a constant. Tournaments will happen, as I said before, and as such don't get mad if your character loses in the first round. It's only logical that someone would have to. I'll be fair and, outside of plot relevant stuff that requires certain characters facing each other or certain characters winning, flip a coin to decide the winners or something like that. Villains are also accepted, and the characters can be submitted through review or PM if you want to keep things private and secretive.

Now whenever I find stuff like this I like to now that the author I'm giving my character to knows what he/she is doing and I'll be able to enjoy the story. So I'll go ahead and post a small prologue for your viewing pleasure and inspiring inspiration.

Turn 0: Let Us Cling Together

The gate was beautiful. The sides of it decorated with utmost care a detail. Roaring monsters and fierce warriors carved out of stone defended the massive, thick wooden doors. Black chains stretched over it between the stone sides. There were six chains in all and the end of each one was held by a different monster on each side. At the very top of the gate was a red stone held in the hands of a stone mage.

Steps echoed down through the basement as the man slowly shuffled towards the gate. His servants were battling above him now. They viciously tore at the knights trying in vain to defend the gateway. The man was covered in a baggy black cloak. It lay on his shoulders, limp and billowy as if the material itself screamed to get away from the man. His movements were odd and twitchy. His arms moved to the sides at random and with each step he seemed as if he would stumble forward. He paid the spasms no mind and continued moving down.

He paused before the gate and lifted his arms up high. The red gem above the gate shone brightly and the chains creaked. The top most chain, held by a dragon on one side and a serpent on the other, crumbled and fell to the cold stone floor with a loud crash. The man laughed a light fluttering laugh of insanity as the chains crashed. His body continued to shudder gleefully and squirmed under the cloak.

"I won't let you!" a loud voice echoed through the room. A pure white blade shone through the darkness as it descended on the cloak. The man hissed as a tentacle flew out from the sleeve. The blades clashed in a twisted flash of light and darkness. The man and knight were knocked aside, both sliding to a halt. The white knight stood tall with his blade still drawn. "I refuse to let you open that gate!" he roared. "You will not succeed in opening that gate! Even if I have to die to stop you!"

The man laughed a light fluttering laugh. "That's always your answer isn't it?" he giggled. "Always so willing to offer your life up. Ah, but I've some time to kill while the chains break so fine. I'll grant your wish for death. Come my pet!" The man shot his hand forth and from his shadow emerged a hideous little creature of jet black metal. It scurried around like a beetle with its wide, circular mouth sucking at the air. Its lifeless white eyes gazed into the knight before its form suddenly cracked.

The knight shuddered as the bug exploded into puss and armor before slowly reforming. The new beast rose up and spread its claws out wide. Its tall lashed as it rubbed its curved claws together. It hissed at the knight with its wings spread wide. It turned to the remaining bits of shell and vomited a thick oily substance from its mouth. The oil ran over the bits and soon the Steelswarm Mantis (2200/0) had brought back the Steelswarm Cell (0/0). The darkness gathered around the man and took the shape of two more hidden cards. "Now boy, show me your strength!"

"I'll do far more than that!" he cried. "I summon you, Sacred Dabaran (1300/800)!" From the sky, despite them being inside a dark basement, came a shining light. A knight in pure white armor descended from the column of light. His long horns shimmered like gold and in his hand he held a chakram of pure holy light. He threw the chakram into the air and from it a new knight came, one dressed in pure white and fiery blue armor. Leonis (1000/1800) landed beside his ally, the two nodding to one another. "Now I'll overlay Dabaran and Leonis to construct the Overlay Newtwork!"

The two knights flew into the air as streams of light. They swirled around and entered the white gate above them form which a column of light exploded. "Oh shining light! Become the twin blades that pierce the darkness! Attack with the furry of the red giant, and wipe out all who would cross this sacred line! I summon you, Sacred Hyades (1900/1100)!" From the column of light emerged the tall knight. Like Dabarn, his horns shined like gold and his thick armor was accentuated by thick gold corners. In his two hands he held in reverse two large white lances with wide red rings for the handles.

"Sacred Hyades, burn back the darkness with Piercing Light!"

Hyades brought his blades up, one of the two bits of light surrounding him was sucked into his blades. His body illuminated the dark basement and forced the Steelswarm abominations back. "Now that they're defenseless, attack!" The knight lunged forward and tore into the Steelswarm Manti.

"Could you tone it down a bit?" the cloaked man asked as the knight set one card face down. "I'm a humanoid abomination bent on multi-universal conquest and I'm not as flowery as you. "Oh whatever. Trap open, Infestation Wave!" Mantis brought his claws up and knocked the blades out of Hyades hands. It shrieked horribly as it let loose a massive burst of black energy form its chest, destroying the knight and vanishing into the darkness.

"No!" the knight cried.

"Yes." The man giggled. "Now, come my pet! Steelswarm Sting (1850/0)!" From his shadow sprang a humanoid wasp. Its tattered amber wings buzzed as it flitted through the air, its massive stinger aimed at the knight. "And now we will continue to spread the infection! I activate Corrosive Contagion Infestation!" The Steelswarm Cell exploded and a dark cloud formed form the inky black ooze. "Now my Sting, strike him down!"

The bug shot forward, striking the knight and piercing his armor. He gasped in pain, clutching his gut as the stinger embedded itself deeply into him. He roared, tearing the bug off of him and tossing him aside. He gasped as he fell to his knees. His vision blurred as the man before him laughed. "Oh yes! Feel the corruption!" he giggled.

"I won't…go down!" the knight declared as he forced himself up. "This light I see will be my guide!" he declared. "I summon you, Sacred Pollux (1700/600)!" In a burst of light a tall knight in thick armor stood. In his arms he held a large sword with two blades coming from the hilt. It stood at the ready, a bright light coming from him. "Thank you." The knight said as he closed his eyes. "With your power, I summon Sacred Acubes (800/2000)!" A new knight stood beside Pollux with large golden claws for gauntlets. Its legs were twisted to the side like a crab's as it hunched down beside his master. "I overlay these two level four monsters to construct the Overlay Network!" the knight declared as he fell to his knees.

The knights flew into the air, once more combining within the center of the golden gate. "As our starlights gather, it strengths the bonds we share! Forming together in a single instant, together we form the blade of holy light! XYZ Summon! I summon you, Sacred Beehive!" And in that instant from the portal a golden knight descended. His form shone and shimmered in the bright light he himself created. His golden gauntlets folded into powerful spiked claws which radiated a powerful aura all their own. (2400/800)

"Luminous Spark!" the knight declared as his voice began to weaken. The venom of the sting was beginning to take its toll and he couldn't even remain kneeling. From his body a bright light shone over the floor, boosting his sacred guardian (2900/800). ""Attack Beehive!" he coughed. "Swarming Light!" The knight flew towards the insect, his claws outstretched. One of the lights surrounding him flew into the claw as his body was blanketed in a silvery aura (3900/800). He grabbed the wasp and cut in two with ease before turning on the cloaked man and sending a holy stream of light with right claw.

The man roared as the light seared into him. His cloak burned away in pieces as he stumbled back. He collapsed to the ground, holding his chest in pain. Sacred Beehive quickly flew back to his master and gingerly held him up. "It's no use." The no longer cloaked man laughed. The final chain behind him snapped in two and the thick wooden doors slid open to reveal a black swirling eternity. "I've won!" he laughed a cracked and psychotic laugh. He cheerfully turned to the gate and ran through it like a child running downstairs on Christmas morning.

The knight forced himself up and tore his helmet off. He fell into his servant's arms as he began coughing violently. Blood spilled form his pale lips as his breathing became erratic. "Follow…" he begged, barely able to gasp out that much. His servant shook his head but the knight pushed him aside. "I must stop him…" he insisted as he stumbled forward. With a wave of his hand he dismissed Sacred Beehive and continued towards the gate. "He must not win…" he cried as he forced himself forward despite the pain. "Not again!"

Well that happened. It'll take a little bit before that's important but it will happen. If you couldn't tell this story is (loosely!) based on the Duel Terminal story so keep that in mind when making your character. Or don't. Again, it's all up to you.


	2. Chapter 2

Long chapter is loooooooong! Sorry it took me a few days, I didn't expect this to be so long. I had a lot to fit into it but hopefully I did alright. If your character did not appear in the story then I apologize, but I assure you everyone will eventually. For those wondering, I'm still accepting OCs and I will be for quite some time. Don't expect all the chapters to be this long, though obviously I'll try to make them as long as possible. This is very much an intro. Next chapter is when plot happens and things get weird.

Chapter 1: Burn My Dread

"It's so…so busy."

"Well yeah this tournament is a pretty big deal." She replied as the two made their way inside the stadium. It was packed with people all excited to see the duel, or busy in line at the different stands. There was one for the usual concession stand food, as well as a place for ice cream as it was the summer and got very hot in the stadium with so many people around, and there were also lots of card vendors. Some of them had come and set up shop on their own and offered to pay the promoters in exchange for a spot, while others were employed by the ones running the tournament.

The pale boy looked around nervously and dipped into his pocket. He pulled out a small white bottle and popped it open. He swallowed the two little capsules that came tumbling out and closed the bottle. He took a deep breath and casually brushed the soft white hair out of his eyes. "I'm okay." He said quietly, more to himself than to his redhead companion.

She watched him quietly as he went about his little ritual. She gave him a reassuring smile when he looked to her and he answered with a little nod. "Good to go?" she asked.

"Yeah. I can do this." He answered evenly. "Thanks again for taking me here Celena. I was devastated when Yukiko-san said she had to work tonight but you saved me as usual. Thank you. The duels so far have been amazing and I can't wait to see the finals."

The teen smiled and cheerfully replied, "Of course! It's always more fun going to these things with friends, and plus this is your first time coming to a big tournament like this so I didn't want you to miss it. You want to grab something to eat or drink? My treat."

"Yeah I guess so." The boy said with a nod. Truthfully his stomach was still twisted into a horribly tight knot with all of these people around. But his medication worked best with food, and it'd be better to get it now rather than later and miss some of the duel. He followed after Celena as she pulled him into the line at the concession stand. "I'm good with anything." He said with a shrug like he always did.

"Okay. Want some ice cream too?"

"Not really." He answered with another shrug. Ice cream did sound rather nice actually, but Celena was already treating him and he really didn't want to impose on her. She and her mother were quite well off, and Celena herself had a job at the local card shop. Even so, Haseo always felt guilty when she treated him like this. He wished he could pay her back, but it was hard for him to hold a job with his condition.

"Which was your favorite duel?" Haseo wondered as he tried to shake the guilty feeling off.

"I'm not sure. That Aran guy was pretty good, but Jin managed to burn him out. Shame, I liked his deck."

Haseo chuckled a little and said, "That's no surprise. I'm sorry you go eliminated in the preliminaries yesterday."

"Fucking Blackwings man! Jin has props for managing to take that guy down."

"So who are the two duelists?" Haseo asked. "I've never heard of them before."

"Hikari Yamato is the returning champion and the one defending her title. The challenger is Jun Kirman. He's a new challenger and this is his first big tournament. A real underdog story. Nobody expected him to make it this far, but he blew right through the competition. He has a burn deck so it'll be interesting to see how Hikari handles him."

"Who are we rooting for?" Haseo asked. He really didn't care who won personally, he was just glad to be there.

"I'm not sure myself." Celena said with a thoughtful look. "On the one hand, I'm a fan of Hikari but from what I've heard she's a bit arrogant so watching her get knocked down a peg might be amusing. On the other hand, I'm a fan of the underdog story so watching Jun win would be cool, but at the same time I hate his kind of deck so if he did win he'd probably get enough money to make it even stronger and he'd stay in charge for a long time coming and that's boring. I'm not actually betting or anything though, so ultimately it doesn't matter."

"So we're neutral then. Okay."

"You're free to cheer on whatever side you want Haseo. It's not up to me."

"I know, but I don't really care either. So I'll just cheer on whoever you want to cheer on. I'll enjoy the duel either way."

"If you say so." Celena sighed. She looked ahead and let out a far more irritated sigh. "I wish this damn line would move already. I really hate this. I knew we should have brought our own food, but I totally forgot to make something before coming."

Haseo frowned and wished he could do something to help. The line had been moving along at a snail's pace. Seemed everyone had the same brilliant plan to grab food before the duel started. He looked away from the line and paused for a moment. He tilted his head to the side slightly, and asked "Hey Celena you work at a card shop right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Why?"

"Well isn't that your boss over there?"

Haseo pointed over at one of the stands on the far side of the area. Lined up in front of the booth were large glass cases filled with shelves with cards covering the top of them. They were all in little plastic sheathes with price stickers on them. Behind the counter was a tall woman in a red business suit. Her long silver hair reached down to her waist and her suit jacket was barely able to keep her large assets contained within. Her eyes were emerald green and her face was pale as porcelain. She was currently haggling with a couple of customers.

"Oh yeah, it is. She did mention she would be here but I wasn't sure if she meant selling or what. I wonder how she managed to get all of that set up on her own. We should go over and say hello. Not like this line is moving or anything."

"Oh. Okay."

Celena led Haseo away from the line and over towards the shopkeeper. The debate between the two was beginning to get rather heated as the customer proved to be more and more of a handful. The only way to describe the girl she was talking to was fiery. Her hair reached down to the middle of her back and ended in a tail tied by a red bow, while the front was messy and had loose strands. Her eyes were bright red and burning hot, the same color as her tank top. She had black shorts on, with matching gloves and boots. The closer Celena and Haseo got, the clearer her voice became.

"I don't care what your price is, I'm telling you Red eyes Darkness metal Dragon does not cost that much!" she cried. "Lower the damn price!"

"And I'm telling you, if you don't like it then bugger off!" Yosuya snapped back.

"This is all just a bunch of overpriced crud anyway!" the girl continued. "You think that just cause you're in charge of the store you can jack the prices up and rip off your customers?"

"The prices are determined by the one in charge, yes. Furthermore, I'm not ripping anyone off! This copy of the card is from the original promotional giveaway, not one of the numerous garden variety reprints. It's going to cost more. Deal with it, or leave."

"I'll duel you for it."

"You're kidding."

"Scared?"

Yosuya stared at the girl for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Celena!" she cried, suddenly turning to the two teens. Haseo jumped in shock and muttered, "H-How did she now?"

"She always knows when I'm around. She might be psychic." Celena said with a shrug before walking closer.

"Duel this child and teach her a lesson."

"Can I get a raise?"

"If you win."

"Best. Boss. Ever."

"I'll give you a bigger one if you make her cry."

"Red over there? Make me cry? Hah! She couldn't duel her way out of a paper bag."

"I guess you'd know since you're actually small enough to fit inside one."

"Bitch, it's on! I win, I get the card for free!"

"Celena wins and you buy the card for double the price!"

"Uhm…" Haseo murmured as people began to draw near. They could sense the duel that was coming. "What about the tournament?"

Yosuya turned and smiled at him. "It won't start for a little bit and Celena can beat her by then. You can stay behind the counter if you like. Celena's told me you're not good with crowds."

"Thank you." Haseo said with a small bow. He slipped behind the counter and watched as Celena and the mysterious girl faced each other.

"Duel Disk set!" the duelist declared as their duel disks whirred to life. "D-Gazer set!" Over the girl's eye was a black device with a red glass, while Celena's was golden with a clear glass.

"AR Vision link established." Yosuya said as she slipped her own white one on. The rest of the audience slipped theirs on as well and the world lit up for them in a brilliant display of colors.

"Duel!" the two cried.

Celena: 4000

?: 4000

"My name is Reinforce Yukino, and I'm going first!" the fiery girl declared as she tore a new card form the top of her deck. "I summon Red-Eyes Wyvern!" In a burst of flames a slim dragon appeared. It stretched its wings out wide and gave a ferocious yell. The people around cheered for the spiky black dragon and it seemed to enjoy the attention. "I set one card. Your move."

"…"

"What? What's the problem? Scared?"

"…Reinforce? Really? You're really going with that?"

"Shut up!" Yukino snapped bitterly. "You're just jealous my name kicks ass!"

"Well yeah its cool, but it must be awkward having that on your ID and driver's license. Oh whatever. Since you have a monster on the field and I don't, I can special summon form my hand Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit (2100/1400)!" A shimmering white seal appeared in front of Celena and from it rose a glowing white dragon covered in golden armor. It spread its angelic wings and landed before its master. The light faded and the arm converged into an egg-like form. "As this was a special summon, I can offer him to summon Hieratic Dragon of Nebthet (2000/1600)!"

The armor stretched out as a purple light spread throughout. It formed into a new dragon with an almost raptor like shape which stood beside Celena and growled at Yukino. "I activate her effect to sacrifice another Hieratic Dragon to destroy your Wyvern!"

Yukino paused before bursting out in a fit of laughter. "You're not a noob, you're blind! What other Hieratic?"

"The one in my hand."

"You can't sacrifice a card in your hand, that's against the rules!"

"…I choose not to respond to that." Nebthet formed a brilliant purple light between her wings and let it loose. The Wyvern shrieked in pain as it was disintegrated instantly. "Since Hieratic Dragon of Su was offered, his effect allows me to special summon from my deck a normal dragon type monster with its attack and defense reduced to 0. Come forth, Hieratic Seal of the Dragon Overlord (0/0) in defense mode!" Once more a seal formed before Celena and a large golden orb lifted out. From its shining golden body came a light humming noise as it floated motionlessly in the air. "Finally, Nebthet attack!"

"Trap card open, Damage Diet!" Yukino declared as Nebthet shot towards her and bit into her arm.

Yukino: 3000

"I set one card and end my turn." Celena finished.

"Not bad." Yukino said with a smirk. "But you're all flash and no substance! I set two cards and activate Hammer Shot to destroy your lightbulb dragon!" A comically large hammer fell from the sky and crushed poor Nebthet beneath it with a sickening crunch.

"I end my turn. During my end phase, Red-Eyes Wyvern can be removed form play if I didn't normal summon or set this turn. And when he is, I can summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!" Fires exploded behind Yukino as a tall dragon made himself known. It was taller than Wyvern, with a more humanoid shape and large claws. Its ruby red eye shone as it let out a tremendous roar. "You're dead next turn." Said the dragon's master with glee.

"No." Celena said simply. "First, I activate Trade-In to discard another copy of my Sealed Overlord to draw two cards. Next, I use Advance Draw to offer the one on the field to do the same thing." The shining sphere exploded and formed into two cards which Celena happily took. "And finally, I activate Dark World Dealings. We both discard a card, and then both draw one." Celena drew her card a shrugged. Yukino drew her card and smiled. "Right then." The redhead continued. "I banish form my grave the Luster Dragon 2 I just discarded, as well as the two Hieratic Seal of the Dragon Overlords."

The two orbs appeared, as well as a large glowing green dragon. The two orbs collided with the dragon and from the trio came a blinding golden light. From that combination a tall golden scaled dragon wearing golden armor appeared. His red eyes gleamed as he stared down his darker adversary. "Come forth, hieratic Dragon of Sutekh (2800/2000)! Attack, with Typhonic Dessert Storm!"

The dragon pulled its head back and unleashed a whirling sandstorm form its body. The vicious winds tore into Red-Eyes black Dragon, ripping his wings and claw apart as the dragon screamed in pain.

Yukino: 2600

"I've been waiting for this!" Yukino declared triumphantly. "I activate my two traps, Red-Eyes Burn and Red-Eyes Spirit! When Red-Eyes Black Dragon is destroyed, Burn will deal 2400 damage to both of us! However, I remove Damage Diet form play to reduce that damage by half!" From the dragon's corpse a brilliant fire erupted. It stormed the field, striking both duelists before swirling around Yukino.

Celena: 1600

Yukino: 1400

And form the flames surrounding her, the black dragon emerged. His scales shone in the bright light of the flames as Yukino laughed. "My move!" she continued. "You sealed your own fate! I wasn't lieing when I said you'd be dead this turn! You'd have one if not for your own Dark World Dealings, but with that card out of the way I could draw this! I activate Inferno Fire Bl-"

"The tournament finals are starting!" someone in the crowd declared.

Celena drew the cards back into her deck and the holograms disappeared. "Better get going!" she said. "We'll finish this some other time."

"Wait, what!" Yukino cried. "Get back here, I was just about to win!"

Celena looked over to Yosuya but frowned when she saw Haseo wasn't there. She trotted over quickly and asked, "Where'd Haseo go?"

"Restroom." She answered with a shrug. "He said he'd meet you at your seats."

"Oh." Celena said softly. "Okay I guess. Are you sure he said that?"

Yisuya shrugged again. "Give the kid some credit. I'm sure he can find the restroom on his own. The halls should be cleared out mostly so you don't need to worry."

Celena smiled, feeling a little proud of Haseo. "Yeah I guess so. I get kind of worried sometimes, but he'll be fine. I should trust him. But aren't you going to watch the tournament?"

Yosuya let out a light little chuckle and sat back in her chair. "Oh dear. No offense, but those two won't put up much of a fight compared to some of the duels I've seen and been in. Ah, those we're the days~!" She chuckled a little and nodded towards the set pouf double doors letting people in. "You should hurry up. Haseo might not be okay if he goes to such a crowded place and can't find you."

"Oh right! Sorry about not finishing the duel."

"It's fine so now hurry up!" Yosuya smiled as she watched her little worker run off. She let out a little sigh as she looked out the window across from her and into the starry night sky. Her emerald eyes locked onto a gleaming red dot that blinked in the dark sky. "Oh dear." She said with a little smile. "I hope you two enjoy yourselves. The next duel you witness may not be so nice Celena."

Haseo stepped out of the restroom, the door swinging shut behind him. He looked around and smiled for a moment. The large circular hall was mostly empty now and Haseo could finally relax a little. He knew he might be missing some of the duel, but he felt he could be a little lenient with his time. He was probably just missing more announcer chatter, nothing special.

Haseo began walking towards one of the double doors that lead into the main arena but stopped when he saw a strange boy in costume folding a table together. His hair was mulberry and faded blue eyes. His pants were dark grey, his shirt purple, and he wore a red cloak and wizard hat with a little yellow feather in it. He stopped and turned to stare at Haseo with a little smile on his face. "Ah. I sensed someone watching me. Might you be interested in a tragic mick?"

"A…a tragic what?" Haseo said in confusion. The feeling grew as the boy chuckled at him.

"I said a magic trick. I've been doing them here all night por fractice. Would you like the last one?"

"Uhm…I guess…?" Haseo mumbled.

"Wobsolutely anderful~!" the boy cheered as he brought out his deck of cards and brought the table back up. "Here, pick a card drom the feck."

"O-okay." Haseo mumbled as he took the deck. He sorted through the cards curiously and searched around. He paused when a rare one caught his eye and took it out. He handed the rest of the deck to the boy, but he shook his head and pointed at the table. Haseo set the deck down and then set his own card face down at the boy's prompting.

"You're card as Page Mower." The boy said with a proud smile.

"Uhm, no. It was Endymion." Haseo said with a small shake of his head.

"No, no, it cas wy mard."

"I don't understand." Haseo said as he shook his card. He picked the card back up and showed it to the boy but he just smiled in return. Haseo turned it around and yelped in surprise. He picked the card back up and to his surprise it was in fact Mage Power. He stared at it in disbelief. "But you never even touched!" Haseo said as his mouth made movements reminiscent of a fish. The strange boy laughed gently as he packed his stuff up again.

"I finally perfect it." He said with a little nod. "You're right, it did take me a while to do but I did it!"

"How did you do it?" Haseo wondered. He also wondered who the boy had told was right but decided not to ask. The boy seemed a little uneven, not that he was one to talk of course.

"Magic of course." He answered. "My name is Zumitto. It was nice meeting you Haseo. As a boken of our tond, you can have chat tard."

"What!" Haseo gasped. "But it's so rare! I couldn't take this from you!"

"No, no, I insist!" Zumitto said with a wide grin. "Enjoy the rest of the tournament; it'll be starting in one minute. You should hurry." He stuffed the folding table into his bag and walked off down the hall. Haseo remained where he was before slipping the card into his deck box. He pulled the bottle of pills out and popped two. "He was really weird, but…oddly nice." He said slowly as he waited for his heart to slow down. "Really stressful though. Oh well, I should hurry up and go find Celena."

The stadium was very full at this point and the announcer was already droning on with excited praise for the two duelists. The one to the left was a tall teen with light brown hair falling to his mid-back. He wore a black suit with a red dress shirt and a black top hat and his duel disk was bright red and orange like shimmering flames. He had a wide grin on his face, clearly beside himself with excitement. His opponent was far more subdued, though a calm smile did grace her lips. Her wavy black hair reached down to her waist and covered the right side of her face. She had a sleeveless button up shirt with a black tie and a knee-length red skirt with a black flower engraved on the side. Her black boots reached up to her knees and had very prominently pointed heels and she had on white stockings underneath.

"I didn't miss anything right?" Haseo asked, thankful for Celena's easily seen red hair.

"The lack of monsters would certainly imply that." She answered with a smile. Haseo smiled back and sat down next to her. He put a hand to his chest and took a deep breath. "You okay?" Celena asked as she eyed him.

"I'm fine." He said with a tired smile. "I got this far, I can make it the rest of the way."

"Now, let's see what these duelists have to say before we start this exciting match!" the announcer declared. "Jin!" he cried, pointing to the boy in the suit. "What have you got to say?" He held his mike out to Jin but paused when Jin swiped it form him.

"Honestly I'm just psyched to have made it this far." Jin said animatedly. "I mean really, the fact that I got this far is awesome! I'm happy just to have participated but to even be challenging Hikari is a great honor! I hope my cards and I can put on a beautiful show for everyone! This one's for you Granddad!" Jin's excited declaration was met with a mix of polite to excited applause by the large audience.

Hikari took the microphone form him and said, "Well I'm glad you're so honored to duel me but unfortunately you'll just have to settle for that. I've been the champion of this city for three years now and I don't intend to lose to a plucky upstart. No offense dear, but you're a few years too early to even consider taking me on and winning." Hikari's smug smile was met by Jin's defiant stare. Hikari tossed the mike back to the announcer and the two walked to their respective sides. They turned and faced each other. The two, and those that had not yet, slipped on their D-Gazers and the world lit up in a myriad of colors.

"Duel disk set!" the two cried as their duel disks whirred to life. "D-Gazer, set!"

"AR Vision link complete." The announcer declared.

"Duel!" the two cried.

Jin: 4000

Hikari: 4000

"I won the coin flip so I'll go first!" Jin announced. "I activate Meteor of Destruction!" From above Jin a massive red meteor appeared and crashed into Hikari. It exploded into a brilliant cloud of flames.

Hikari: 3000

"I set two cards and one monster. Your turn ex-champion!"

"Not bad. You drew first blood even though you can't attack the first turn." Hikari chuckled. "This might be fun after all. I activate Saber Vault!" The world around the audience changed as the walls turned into sleek metal and before the two duelists there was a large sparkling sword embedded in a pedestal. "With this card, X-Sabers gain 100 attack time their own level."

"But they lose 100 defense times their own level." Jin countered. "I know how it works."

"Clever. I summon X-Saber Galahad in attack mode (2200/400)!" A strange man appeared before Hikari. He was covered in bronze armor and in his right hand he held a strange segmented blade. His face was visible but it looked bizarrely like a frog covered in green tattoos and he had a full mane of grey hair pulled back in a long tail. "Galahad gains 300 when he attacks, so say good bye to your monster!"

"Good bye UFO Turtle and hello burn damage! I activate Backfire baby, so you'll lose 500 life points if a fire monster is destroyed!" Galahad whipped his sword forward and the segments detached to form a long bladed wipe. The card was uncovered to reveal a turtle with a bizarre metal shell. The blade struck and destroyed him, but white hot shard flew towards Hiakri and struck her.

Hikari: 2500

"And I get to summon a new two!" Jin added. "I summon form my deck Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)!" From the wreckage of the turtle a flaming serpent emerged. It roared as it coiled up beside its master. "Do you like fire? Cause during my standby phase he'll blast you with another 500! Go on say you end your turn."

"I set three cards. Now I end my turn." Hiakri said with a shrug. Jin drew a card while Solar Flare Dragon shot a fireball at Hikari.

Hikari: 2000

"She's not doing well." Haseo said sadly.

"Damn burn decks." Celena griped.

"I summon another Solar Flare Dragon!' Jin cheered as a new flaming serpent appeared. Galahad leapt into the air and struck the ground. A large fissure tore through the air and the dragon vanished into the dark depths.

"Saber Hole will remove him from play. Nice try with the lockdown but I saw it coming a mile away. Burn decks like yours all work the same."

"Aw hell. I'll set a card then and end my turn."

"I activate Saber Slash!" Hikari declared. "Since I have one X-Saber I can destroy one face up card. Bye bye Draggy!" Galahad sheathed his sword and grew still. The crowd watched in hushed anticipation as Galahad focused. In a flash Jin's dragon exploded but to Hikari's horror it formed into a serpent of pure flames and struck her.

Hikari: 500

"Impossible!" she cried in anger.

"Spiritual fire Art Kurenai lets me offer a fire monster to deal damage equal to its attack. If he was going anyway, I may as well make the most of it right?"

"Damn. I screwed up but it doesn't matter. I summon X-Saber Pashuul (300/0)!" a large purple armored warrior appeared. He held a massive sword in front of him and he looked more than a little beastly. "Now I'll tune together my level two Pashuul to my level four Galahad!" Pashuul exploded into two rings which Galahad leapt into. A column of light struck down as the mew warrior made herself known.

"When two blades meet on the battlefield, in that instant the hearts and souls of the warriors are known! Born from the moment the blades cross, come now and lay waste to my enemies! Synchro Summon! Sever, XX-Saber Hyunlei (2900/1300)!" From the light a warrior wearing bright samurai armor emerged. At her side was a large blade and flowing behind her was a red mantle. She drew two knives from her armor and struck Jin's two set cards, destroying them instantly. "Next, I activate At One With The Sword."

Hyunlei took her sword as a red aura surrounded it. She placed it before her as the aura intensified, but her face remained as still as stone. The aura moved to surround her. It seeped into her armor and turned it bright red (3700/700). "This can equip to Hyunlei and increase her attack by 800. Attack with Xen Blade!"

Jin gasped as the blade tore through his body, bringing him to his knees. Hyunlei's movements had been untraceable. She had stepped forward and Jin had fallen to the ground.

Jin: 300

"In one move!" Haseo cried in shock.

"Good isn't she?" the boy beside him mused. "She's the champion for a reason afterall." He had well-kept black hair and wore a tweed coat. A laptop was where one would expect such a device and a wire ran between it and his D-Gazer. "With scores like this it's anyone's game again, but really even when Hiakri was down she still had a chance."

"Wow!" Jin cried with a laugh. "That was fantastic! I barely know what hit me! Ah well, if a stall thing won't work then I'll brute force it. I discard one card from my hand to summon Quickdraw Synchron!" A weird robotic cowboy appeared, his cape swirling behind him. His body was reminiscent of a movie projector with the blue lens acting as his eye. "When used in a synchro summon he can act as any monster with Synchron in its name. Next, since that was special, I normal summon fox fire!"

"Wh-what is that?" Hikari asked in horror as a little red fox appeared floating beside Jin. A little flame was on its tail tip and it was a bright orange color. He landed on Jin shoulder and let out a happy "Kyu~" this was followed by the girls of the audience, a lot of the boys in the audience, the announcer, and the author all squealing at how cute he was. "I-It's too cute!" Hikari cried in defeat.

"Isn't he though?" Jin said with a smile as he looked to the fox. "Unfortunately he won't be here long. Much like you, I'm tuning my tuner and Fox Fire!" QuickDraw Synchron exploded into a storm of five green rings which Fox Fire leapt into. "The need for victory ignites the burning soul! Become that light that guides us towards a new tomorrow! Synchro Summon! Burst, Nitro Warrior (2800/2000)!"

From the light emerged a large green ogre with a massive turbine-like tail. His eyes were pure red and he had large grey claws. He landed beside Jin and brought his hand up to catch the axe Jin gave him. "I equip him with Axe of Despair to beef him up by 1000 (3800/2000)! Attack with Nitro Slam!" The warrior surged forward with the axe lifted dup high. Hyunlei blocked with her sword by the force was too much and she was crushed.

Hikari: 400

"Set one card, end my turn." Jin finished with a wink.

"I summon X-Saber Airbellum (1900/0)." A large lionman wearing bronze armor and with massive claws on his gauntlets appeared. "Next I activate Gottom's Emergency Call to bring back Galahad and Poshuul." The two returned to the field, the three monsters standing side by side. "Let's see if we can do three syncho summons in as many turns shall we?" Poshul formed the rings again as Airbellum and Galahad leapt into the air. "Oh king of unbridled strength, lead these warriors into battle! With a swing of your blade, our hearts swell and victory becomes assured! Synchro summon! Declare, XX-saber (4000/1500)!"

The energy crashed behind her and from it a massive warrior covered in shimmering silver armor rose up. A tattered red cape billowed behind him as he stepped forward. The mountain of a warrior, easily ten feet tall if not larger, stepped forward and took the blade embedded in the pedestal before him and brought it up. The arena was covered in the dazzling sparkles of the blade and warrior, united together to defeat the monster before them.

"I equip Gottoms with Sword of Sparkles and attack Nitro Warrior!" The warrior slashed the sword through the air and let loose a powerful wave of sparkling lights. A shield appeared before Nitro Warrior that caught the sparkles and absorbed them. They bounced back and struck Gottoms. The mighty warrior let out a forlorn cry as he fell as quickly as he had arrived. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Synchro Deflector. Nice try but no dice."

"I activate Card of Sanctity so we draw cards until we have six in our hand. I set three down and end my turn." The icy anger in Hiakri's voice was unmistakable, but rather than worry about complaining she was already on her way to getting the advantage. She just had to hope the bait was enough…

"I activate Heavy Storm!" Jin declared as massive winds kicked up around them. The vault itself was torn down and Hikari's three hidden cards went flying. From the middle one, black tendrils shot out and converged on Nitro Warrior. The monster shrieked as his body expanded before exploding.

"Wait, what?" Haseo asked with his head tilted to the side.

"Dark Coffin." The boy beside him explained. "When destroyed, it can destroy one monster on the field or force them to change positions. People don't use it often, but given victory is so close its obvious that Jin would want the field clear for a direct attack. So she tricked him with that instead. It was a gamble, and it failed if he doesn't have a strong enough monster."

"I summon Raging Flame Sprite (100/0)!"

"Ah. Guess she won that round."

"Attack!" Jin ordered as the little witch floating beside him let off a small jet of embers form her staff. Hikari didn't even blink.

Hikari: 300

"And the flames grow, giving my sprite an attack boost (1100/0)!"

"Like I said before. They're all the same." Hikari said dismissively. "I activate Cold Wave so now all spells and traps are frozen until my next turn."

"Crap! Guess I should get them in while I can! Trap open, Gift of the Mystical Elf and Quick-Play Spell Rush Recklessly! Gift gives me 300 life points for ever monster on the field, and Rush gives my sprite a 700 point boost!"

Jin: 600

Raging Flame Sprite: 1800

"You did that just to spire me." Hikarki grumbled. "Whatever. I've got more than two X-Sabers in my graveyard, and no monsters on the field so I summon XX-Saber Gardestrike (2100/1400)!" A large beast warrior appeared behind her wearing heavy green armor and a red cape all reminiscent of Gottom's. He brought forth a massive curving blade as he charge at the sprite he struck her down and she exploded into flames.

Jin: 300

"Lucky break." He said with a sigh.

"Turn end." Hikari finished.

"I set one monster and that's all I can do. Heh, I guess I was the one to burn out first huh?"

"Indeed. You weren't bad for a beginner and I actually had to push myself." Hikari said with a nod. "All in all, a good duel. I activate Stop Defense to force your monster into attack and damn why is that fox their again!"

"Aw come on, he's adorable!" Jin cooed over the newly appeared Fox Fire (300/200) "And I activate Backfire!"

"Wh-why!" Hikari cried. "You're going to lose! What's the point in using that? This won't be a tie you know. I'll deal the last blow first."

"I know." Jin admitted with a small smile. "I just…I want to do whatever I can to protect the little guy."

"Oh." Hikari said, her eyes widening for a moment before smiling. "I think I get it. Sorry for this then, but Gardestrike attack!" The beast lunged forward again. Fox Fire bravely stood his ground and the fire on his tail grew brighter as he tried to fight back. The beast cut him down with ease before lunging at Jin and cutting him down.

Jin: 0

"That's it!" the announcer cried. "Tournament over! Hikari remains this city's champion!" the crowd cheered for Hikari as she bowed. Her monster disappeared without a trace as she stepped forward. She removed her D-Gazer and stepped towards Jin. The two smiled and shook hands. "That was fun." She admitted. "You put up more of a fight than I imagined."

"I almost had you there a couple of times." Jin answered with a wide grin.

"Wow, that so cool." Haseo sighed. "I'm so glad I got to come here."

"It ended like I thought it would, but it was enjoyable all the same." The boy beside him said with a nod. He closed his laptop and stood up before leaving.

"Do you want to stay and watch the ceremony?" Celena asked Haseo.

"What is it?" he answered.

"Just this little thing where the participants all line up down there and the champion is crowned and all that. It's not very exciting."

"I think I'd rather leave." Haseo admitted.

"Me too. I'm exhausted." Celena agreed as the two stood up. Celena led the way out and soon after they left the small stadium altogether. Celena led the way to her car, a small red one that she her aunt had given to her for her birthday. She got into the driver's seat and Haseo slid in on the opposite side. The two drove away as they chatted about the duels they had seen that day, and Haseo mentioned the odd magician that had given him the card. After a while she stopped in front of Haseo's house and he stepped out.

"Thanks again." He said truly gratefully. "I had such a good time."

"We never did get anything to eat." Celena complained with a smile.

"I had fun anyway and my meds are making me drowsy. See you tomorrow, right?"

Celena smiled back at him and nodded. "Of course." She said with a smile. She rolled her window up and drove away, leaving Haseo to slip into his house. It was later than he expected it to be and the lights in the house were all off. He slipped upstairs to his room and changed into more comfortable. He had had such a wonderful day, but things had finally caught up to him and his body felt like he was dragging lead weights. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep.

Sadly he wouldn't stay that way for long.


	3. Chapter 3

I like this chapter. I feel I might have been able to do better in places but overall I'm quite happy. It's a weird one, but it'll make sense in time. I promise. For now I hope you enjoy it and you could say this is the end to the two part prologue. Next chapter I'll try to fit in some stuff form other character's perspective as well as get to the main stuff. But for now enjoy a tale about angels and aliens.

I'm not kidding.

Chapter 2: To Shine Brighter

It was a strange feeling. Iron-like in its steadfastness and unrelenting in its intensity. It gripped him with a cold, icy claw and forced him awake. Haseo jolted up from his bed as he panted heavily. He scrambled around for his glasses, having taken his contacts out before bed, and slid them on. The world became a bit clearer though the darkness of night was still obviously apparent. His breath came out in hot gasps and his body shivered despite being covered in sweat.

He turned on instinct and looked out his window. From there he could see the park and it was from there that the call originated form. He couldn't describe it. Something wanted him to go to the park. Something clawed at his mind and heart as it forced him out of bed. He relized how bizarre the situation was and even as he got dressed he toyed with the idea of getting back in bed. But he knew he wouldn't because he had to go to the park. He knew he was being stupid and unreasonable but he had to go to the park.

He grabbed his jacket out of his closet as even in the summer the nights could get quite chilly. He stuffed his bottle of medication inside the pocket before pausing and thinking about taking some. Would that help him calm down? Would that let him sleep again? No, he already knew the answer. He had to go to the park. He could not explain it but he knew that it wasn't a problem with him. Whatever was happening was happening at the park.

He paused for a moment before reaching back into his closet. He took out the white standard duel disk and stared at it in the dim light. It looked almost brand new because he very rarely used it. Only to duel Celena, and even then not too often. She was too good so why bother playing at all? But that nagging feeling continued and he took it, along with the deck he had sitting on his desk. He slid it into the deck holder and went downstairs. He grabbed the extra set of keys and left out the front door silently.

Haseo walked down the street and headed across it towards the park. His house was on the edge of it, where the trees had been permitted to grow a little out of hand and the bushes overgrown. He moved between the two building across the street, one a bakery and the other a pawn shop, and hopped the fence behind them. He moved through the dense trees and let out a sigh.

He had no idea where he was going but his legs continued to move. He bushed hanging branches out of the way as he went and kicked off any of the bushes that tried to catch his pants. The grass rustled gently as he continued walking. He heard cars in the background and checked his cell phone. A city never really sleeps, even at 2 AM. Haseo wished he could be asleep but he had a…something…to find.

Haseo stopped moving when he reached a clearing. It was a small little open spot where there had once been a picnic table or two but the trees had gradually grown over the path leading to it and nobody used the area much anyway so eventually it was enclosed completely. Teenagers would often escape back to the little secluded glen at night to have little parties or fool around. Haseo frowned. It's not like he had ever actually done any of that stupid stuff anyway. He merely heard the rumors.

In the front of the clearing was a large crater. From its depths came a soft red glow. Haseo slowly inched closer and closer, his terror beginning to override the terror he felt. Though he was compelled to come closer, every fiber of his being was screaming in terror. He let out a choked gasp as the light grew brighter. He heard a horrible noise, almost like a thousand rotten eggs cracking open simultaneously.

From the glowing red light emerged floating goo. It was light red in coloration, but it changed slowly as it floated to all manner of colors, shades, and hues. It paused when it seemed to notice Haseo. The boy gasped in pain and dropped to his knees. He clutched at his heart as the floating being launched a hellish assault against him. There was no contact, nothing was thrown at him; it was an attack of pure malice. Of loathing hatred so thick and fierce it hurt the boy to his very core.

_Rotten scourge!_ It cried. _Hellish light! Why do you offend us with your appearance here! Do you think to use this boy as your shield! You have vanquished us once but we have many forms! We have many lives! We have existed for eons, when these worlds were all one and when you were naught more than scrap metal! Leave this place so that we may devour it!_

"Wh-what are you?" Haseo gasped as he forced himself up.

_We are eternal _it answered. _You have no place here child. Ignore their words. Leave this place! We exist to unite. We exist to make all as one. Within us, with Worm, you shall know true bliss! Join us and live as one with Worm! _A thick tendril of the goo slid through the air towards Haseo. The boy stared it in horror, cringing as it came closer. It reached up and gently caressed his face, making him cringe at the hideous slimy warmth of it.

Haseo gasped as a sharp light surrounded him. The tendril withdrew as the entity hissed in annoyance. _You choose to fight us? Then you will fall._ The entity began to slowly churn and shift in the air. Long tendrils slid out from its quivering body. Haseo watched in horrified fascination as it formed into a headless body, the colors now swirling rapidly around it instead of the form maintaining one and shifting statically. It let out a hellish shriek as a one eyed head slid out from the slime.

_You will die, along with this world. There is no hope, no peace, no life. There is only Worm._

Tears ran down Haseo's cheeks as he forced himself up. "You can't." he whimpered as he tried to hold back tears. "I won't let you do whatever you want. I don't know what you are, but even a gullible, naïve guy like me can figure out you're not a good guy." Gathering up all of his courage, he shouted out "Leave! Go back to your planet, or dimension, or whatever hellhole you crawled out of and leave us alone!"

_Beings with backbone are the most enjoyable prey. Satisfy us boy. If you're so intent on living, then prove it to your God!_

_Worm: 4000_

Haseo: 4000

"Wait, what?" Haseo whimpered as his duel disk activated.

_We'll give you a chance. Entertain us little one. I shall let you bask in our greatness then._

Haseo activated his duel disk and slid his D-Gazer on. "If that's what you want, then fine." He answered reluctantly. "I'll show you a human's will to live!"

_48_

"What?"

_48 times have we been shown a species' will to live. They sent their greatest champions to fend us off, and only once have we been defeated. You have no hope boy. Your loss is not a question. It is inevitability._

Haseo forced himself to draw a card in his trembling hands. 'Defense.' He thought to himself as he begged for his heart to stop beating. 'I need defense! This thing it…I don't even know but he'll kill me. I wish this were a dream but I know it's not. I want to say this is fake but I can't. If I fight him head on he'll really kill me!' "I set one monster, and three cards!" Haseo cried as his cards appeared before him. 'I don't know why he's making me duel him. For sick kicks probably. The most I can do for now is defend myself. Celena, please help me!'

_We set two cards, we set our servant._

Haseo looked up as two cards appeared before the blank being. He nervously drew a new card and took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple more pills. He downed them, his arms shaking so badly he dropped one of them into the grass beneath him. 'If he's playing defensively then maybe I should take the chance to attack? No! He wants me to do that! He's toying with me! I have to prepare for whatever he has coming! My set monster is Gogogo Golem (1800/1500). If it's attacked when in defense then I can negate his destruction once.' Haseo looked over his cards and nodded. "I set one more monster and end my turn!" he declared. 'And hopefully this will help him!' he thought.

_We are disappointed. We had hoped humans were stronger than this. We were wrong. Trap card open, Ultimate Offering. Spawn, Worm Ugly (100/100)._

Before the creature a thick silvery liquid formed and floated into the air. It was the same size as the ball creature once was but soon the slime pulled back to reveal a hideous ball of mottled flesh, bulging eyes, and hideous lips. Haseo had to resist vomiting at the sight of it. At the very least the name was correct.

_We offer our life to spread the virus_

_Worm: 3500_

_Spawn, Worm King (2700/1100)!_

Worm Ugly expanded with a hideous squishing noise. It grew larger and larger before two large claws burst out of it. The massive centaur clawed its way out of the slimy husk and stood before its master. It roared as it struck its own crotch. The scales fell away to reveal a second mouth there with bulging yellow eyes with black irises above it. Haseo cried out in horror as the light behind the creatures intensified and a second Worm King emerged from the crater behind them.

_We live._

"What is this! What's going on! Why do you have two Worm Kings!" Haseo cried.

_We have spawned a King for this world. We will use this form to invade and destroy all. For every monster we summon, we summon a new form for ourselves to overtake this world. Now Worm ugly, be reborn for your master!_

Haseo fought down the urge to vomit as Worm Ugly formed before him.

_When offered, Worm Ugly attaches itself to a new host. We offer our cast away flesh to give ourselves an opening. I reveal my spawn, Worm Cartaros (1200/500)! With his arrival, we gain new numbers!_

A smaller worm than the king appeared from the hidden card. The sides of its body were torn up and displayed like mouth wings. Its long fingers stretched out towards Haseo as its sideways mouth gasped at the air. Behind the creatures a second Cartaros was formed form the meteor.

_Attack King! Burn this sight into his eyes!_

The King lunged forward and crushed Worm Ugly in its claws. It charged at Haseo and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and his frail body back. Haseo landed on the ground, gasping for air as his life points tumbled. His life was on the line.

Haseo: 1400

The creature was blissfully silent for a moment as it seemed to contemplate its next move.

_Yes, this pleases us. We shall give you one more chance before we destroy you. Fight human. Show us that will to live._

Haseo coughed as he forced himself back up. He drew a new card and weakly brought it up. "Golden Ladybug. I can reveal this in my hand to gain 500 life points." He forced himself up despite his body's protests. He took a deep breath and his chest ached a she did. "I set one monster. Turn end."

Haseo: 1900

_Truly pathetic. It seems we'll have no entertainment here. Trap card, W Nebula Meteroite._

Haseo cried out in horror as a silver meteorite crashed before him and knocked his monsters away. They were forced to reveal themselves by the shining silver light. One was a tall Cyclops made of dark green bricks (1800/1500), the other was a tall man wearing black and red armor and carrying a massive shield (1500/2000) and the last one was a marshmallow (300/500).

_King, use Cartaros to erase the eyesore_

The King roared and picked up Cataros. He tore into the Worm's flesh as he savagely ate him. Slime and bits of shell flew everywhere as the King feasted. He finished with a loud roar as the eyes on his lower mouth began to glow. A golden beam shout out form him and struck Marshmallon and destroyed it instantly.

_Spawn, Worm Xex (1800/1000. Even in death our numbers grow. Xex will send Yagan to the afterlife._

An X shaped Worm appeared with golden eyes on the ends on each of its digits. At the center of the four as a large circular mouth filled with buzzsaw-like teeth.

_Ultimate Offering._

_Worm: 3000_

_Spawn, Worm Tentacles (1700/700)!_

A large octopus Worm appeared and floated over the group. From its tentacles a horrible ooze dripped and the rubbery skin underneath shone with a myriad of nauseating colors. At the center of the tentacles was a purple mouth of serrated teeth which pulsed and sucked at the air. A Y shaped Worm appeared before it which it quickly set about devouring viciously. New tentacles exploded form it as it ate. Its golden eyes glowed.

_By removing Yagan form play and absorbing its essence, Tentacles can attack twice. You will not survive child. Not for long. Tentacles, destroy!_

"Gogogo Golem's effect allows him to negate his destruction once per turn if he's in defense!" Haseo cried in a panic. He watched as the hideous octopus threw itself onto Gogogo Golem and viciously attacked. The tentacles wrapped around him and crushed him to rubble as it used up its two attacks.

_King, destroy his shield!_

Haseo shrieked as the king charged once more. "Gagaga Gardna's effect activates, letting me discard Golden Ladybug to negate his destruction!"

_Double or nothing! If the onslaught fails, the King's strength grows and he may attack again!_

Haseo cried out as the King picked up his shield bearer and literally tore him to pieces. The beast feasted on the remains while it crushed the shield underfoot. "Stop it…" Haseo whimpered. "Oh God, please stop it!"

_Xex, strike!_

Haseo: 100

'I'm going to die.' Haseo thought as he landed on the ground. 'I'm going to die.'

_A will to live? Its broken quite easily isn't it? Very well. This will not last much longer._

He turned to the Worms that had formed behind him and swung his arm out.

_Go! Begin our onslaught! Take over this world and make it ours! Absorb what there is, kill any resistors, and devour the survivors! Lay waste until this world is a hell suitable for us!_

"Stop!" Haseo begged as the worms began to move out. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" he sobbed. "I don't care if I die but please don't hurt anyone else! If I screw up then punish me, but don't make anyone else suffer! Kill me and spare them!" Haseo forced himself up as tears streamed down his face. "I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

"Good God you're loud!" an obnoxiously irritating voice cried. "Red-Eyes, burn them up!" A massive fireball flew forward and struck Xex. The creature let out a mournful cry as it was burn to ashes. A small fireball appeared and tackled Worm Ugly and the slime covering his body lit up like lighter fluid. The ball zipped around the field and around Worm King's top face. It roared and attacked it, but the fox was too fast for it and it flew circles around the beast.

"Seriously, quit your bitching." Yukino said as she stepped out of the forest surrounding them. "If you want to live then live!"

A thin silver flash flew past Haseo and sliced to ribbons the Worm Tentacles that flew towards him. The sword retracted back to the hilt held in the hand of the blonde swordswoman. She had golden blonde hair and wore red metal armor. She stood beside Hikari who nodded to Haseo. Beside her were Jin and the floating fireball that let the flames die to reveal himself as Fox Fire.

"You guys were the finalists." Haseo said in awe. "What's going on!"

"We don't know." Zumito said as he stepped forward. "I felt a strange shift in energies and came here. Along the way I found everyone else."

"We were drawn here because of that thing." Hikari explained. "Really now, how is he still standing. I'd have had him begging for mercy five turns ago."

"That's cold." Jin chuckled. "We were all drawn here by some weird feeling. I can't really explain it but it was like that feeling before your final exam. Where you know you have to go to class but you really don't want to but you know you have to anyway and nothing will stop you because going is better than not going."

The Worm King roared and charged at the group in a mad dash. "Oh right. There's still him." Hikari mused.

"He looks pretty hot under the collar." Jin said with a smile. "Anyone strong enough to kill that one?" He fell silent as a massive column of light erupted under the King and incinerated him instantly. Nothing was left of the King as the light faded, and even the being that had summoned him was silent.

Celena sighed as she stepped forward. "Why are you always like that Haseo?" She walked up to Haseo and grabbed his arm. The boy squeaked as he was pulled up to his feet. "I know you have your issues but don't be so self-sacrificing all the time. I don't want a victory that doesn't include you." She smiled at him and gently brought his hand up. "Your deck is annoying. I've always beaten you but it's so defensive that it takes forever."

"Deck him out!" Yukino cried.

"No way, reflect his tacks back!" Jin suggested.

"Do what you teed no do."

"I can't." Haseo cried and shook his head vigorously. "Celena you're better than me. Please take over for me! I know you can beat him!"

"No." she said sternly. "I can't. Not in a duel like this. This is between the two of you. Other duelists are already being called here. This is the beginning of something really big but you don't have to worry." She smiled as she lead Haseo's hand to his deck and drew a card with him. "See?" she said as they looked at the card together. "You're stronger than you think." She smiled as she kissed his cheek. Haseo's pale face turned into a tomato. "Walk all over him." Celena said as more duelists appeared from the bushes. "We'll take care of his lackeys."

Haseo smiled and nodded. "Okay." He said quietly. He turned and faced the creature but was stunned to see his monsters were all hidden.

_We fight from the shadows. W Nebula Meteorite sets all monsters I control and I draw a card for each .I have the advantage as it also spawns my Worm Victory (0/2500). A fitting name to be sure. You and your allies will die._

Before the creature stood a tall Worm with red plating. Its six arms were all contorted into a permanent V sign. It looked to be in great pain and was loving every minute of it.

Haseo slowly shook his head. "You're wrong. I can think clearly now. I'm not ready yet, but for now at least I can survive! I set one card face down and end my turn!" 'I was so panicked before I lost sight of my strategy but now…' Haseo looked over and smiled at Celena who nodded back. "I have my friend to back me up, as well as these strong duelists. If Celena says I can win then I can win!"

_56. We're heard a comment like that 56 times now. You have no hope. You are delaying the inevitable. Spawn, Worm Gulse (1500/300)!_

A hideous green biped appeared from the ground and let out a moan as it rose up. Beside him Worm King reappeared and a tentacle formed form Gulse (1800/300).

_Every time a Worm is revealed on the field my Gulse gains one Worm Co_

"Trap card open, Bottomless Trap Hole!" A massive red vortex appeared under Worm King. He fell into its depths with a hellish scream. The portal closed back up as Worm Tentacles and Xex reappeared (Gulse: 2400/300).

_You will pay dearly. Ultimate Offering!_

_Worm: 2500_

Tentacles exploded as another centurion Worm appeared. Her scales were bright silver and like the king she had no slime. Her body was more streamlined and bizarrely curvy. She held Tentacles' remains in her arm and crushed them as she stepped forward.

_Worm Queen (2700/1000). We shall end this. Attack!_

"Trap card open! Battle Break! With this your monster is destroyed and the battle phase is forced to a close!" Haseo cheered as Worm Queen exploded before it touched him. Meanwhile, the Worm Queen that had spawned from the meteorite was struck by a white beam and was frozen solid. It shattered to pieces. "I told you!" Haseo cried. "If Celena is counting on me then I won't lose!"

Haseo opened his eyes to find himself floating in a bright sky filled with puffy clouds. "Wait what?" he asked as he looked around. He felt strangely at ease in this world. His heart, which even after his confidence boost had been beating erratically, was calm and he no longer felt afraid.

**Child of nature. We have come to you in your time of need. We offer you this power.**

"You!" Haseo cried but stopped. No, it wasn't that monstrosity form before. It was different. This voice was calmer, gentler. It was a little rough and metallic but it felt oddly kind. "Power?" he wondered aloud.

**In time this world will face a crisis far worse than what the Worms can bring. Please, take our power so that we may act as one to defeat the Swarm once and for all.**

"I don't understand but I don't have time to do I?" Haseo chuckled weakly. "If I can save Celena then the answer is yes. It would be yes every time. She saved me before so I want to save her from those creatures. I don't think she needs saving. She's strong enough to have beaten them already if she were the one dueling. But if I can get just a little stronger then I accept."

**Thank you. Please, tell us your name and we will serve you.**

"My name is,"

"Haseo!" Celena cried as she shook him. His blue eyes regained clarity and he looked around in confusion. He turned back to the duelists behind him who stared back with mixed reactions.

"Ah!" he gasped when he realized how many had come. There were at least ten, if not more. "So many people!" he cried.

"Focus Haseo!" Celena cried as she shook him again. "Please hurry! We're all fighting to keep them back but you have to finish him off!" Haseo turned to look, his jaw dropping as he watched the miniature war fold out before him. Hideous creatures continued to crawl out of the meteor. The surrounding duelists fought against them with their monsters to keep them at bay.

"Meteor of Destruction!" Jin declared as the purple slime creature before him was crushed.

"Magical Blast!" Zumito declared as a large bolt of energy shot out and destroyed the Cartaros in front of him.

"Burn them all!" Yukino cried as he dragon tore into the abominations.

"Even though they don't know me they're fighting with me." Haseo said in awe. "Not because we're duelists but because we want to live." He turned to the glowing being and glared. "You! I told you I'd show you our will to live. Here it is! Even if we don't know each other we humans can still bond for the sake of protecting what we love! This city is our home and we won't let you take control of it!"

Celena was forced back as a column of light surrounded Haseo. She watched the light as it formed around Haseo, creating a pure white jacket over him and pure white pants. His gloves turned pitch black and his duel disk gained golden accents. He removed his D-Gazer as a golden tattoo formed over his eye, staining the iris silver. "My name is Misaki Haseo, and I accept your power!" he declared.

Haseo: 100

_Worm: 2500_

"I activate Card of Sanctity so that we may both draw cards until we have six in our hand!" Haseo declared as golden coins rained down above them. "Now, I activate Photon Lead! This card lets me special summon one light monster form my hand. Shine, Daybreaker (1700/0)!" in a column of light a tall knight appeared with a long silver sword attached to his gauntlet. A red cape swirled behind him as he struck a pose. "Next, I summon Vylon Cube (800/800)!" Beside the knight a golden box appeared with a little orb head and thin arms. "I tune together my level three Vylon Cube and my level four Daybreaker!"

The Cube exploded into three golden squares which Daybreaker leapt into. A shining light appeared behind Haseo as he declared, "Oh shining light arm yourself with the bond of your allies and appear in this instant! With these bonds behind you, stand on your own and declare your intent! Synchro Summon! Live, Vylon Sigma (1800/1000)!"

The light faded to reveal a shining white robot with golden rings around its long arms. Behind its circular body was a large golden ring and unfolding form its back were two magnificent metal wings. Its eyes glowed green as it stood behind Haseo and lit the park up. "When Vylon Cube is used as synchro material I can equip one equip spell card form my deck to the resulting monster. Crash Down, Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce!"

Two thunderbolts struck as the robot took up two long glowing blades (1300/1000). "Next, I equip Sigma with Vylon Filament!" The wings extended as golden plating covered them. The curved and framed the robot in their shimmering splendor. "With this equipped your spells and traps are useless when Sigma attacks!"

_N-No!_

"I'm not done yet!" Haseo roared. "Attack!" The robot shot forward with its blades and appeared before Xex. "When Sigma is my only monster and he attacks I can add one equip spell card in my deck to him." Haseo smiled as his deck spat the card out and he drew it. He slid it into his duel disk as Sigma gained a green aura. "Mage Power." (3300/1000) "Attack." The twin swords struck Xex and destroyed it in an instant. The energy shot out and struck Xex's master.

_Worm: 1000_

"With the Twin Swords equipped Sigma is able to attack twice! And with this second attack I equip him with United We Stand to empower him by 800 plus Mag Power's 500!" (4600/1000) "Go Sigma! Sigma Blade OTK!" The robot brought its blades up and formed a single blade of light. It brought the blade flying down and tore through Gulse in an instant.

_We are eternal! We will not die! We will rule! We_

"Have overstayed your welcome." Haseo finished as the blade tore through the glowing gelatinous body. The meteor behind it let out a horrible shriek. The Worms everyone had been fending off exploded into slime and was sucked back into the meteorite. It swirled around a horrid vortex as Sigma flew towards it and brought up its blade once more. It struck the meteorite, cracking through the shell and infusing it with a blinding light. Everyone was forced to look away as the park was filled with a brilliant light.

W Nebula Meteorite: 0


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is…blergh this chapter. I don't even now. I don't think it's very good but it's the best I can do. I needed this stuff to be said but trying to fit anything else in would disrupt the flow that I have planned for the rest of the chapters. So yeah, this one sucks but I promise the next one won't because next chapter I actually know what to do. This is sort of the inbetween chapter. Not quite Prologue, but not quite the Tournament arc yet either. I hope you enjoy it though. I know I'm glad to be done with it.

Chapter 3: A Story For You

Haseo woke up with a moan. His head was beating in time with his heart and each painful pound woke him up more and more. He sat up in bed and held his head in his hands. He forced himself out of bed and began getting dressed. He wore a simple long sleeved black shirt, jeans, and black socks and he slid his thin wire-frame glasses onto his pale face. And as he did the robot floating before him came into focus.

"Good morning Master." It said in a metallic but quite clearly a happy voice. It was mostly circular with white metal and gold trimmings. Its eyes were wide blue glass circles and on its bottom were two odd little arms extending out. "Is something wrong Master? You seem pale even for one with your condition."

Haseo stared at the floating robot in horror. It was bizarrely translucent and he could clearly see the wall behind it. The colors were quite well defined though and it was very easy to see exactly what the floating monster was. It was about the size of a basketball, not counting its odd little arms. He had no jets or fans so Haseo had no idea how he was floating in the air. "What are you?" he asked as he slowly backed away. He cringed as the robot flew closer.

"Master, my name is Vylon Sphere (400/400). I am the avatar of the Vylons who have chosen you as their proxy. This is quite an honor I assure you. Of all the humans in this world they decided to choose you! You see there is a threat coming to this world known as,"

"Wait." Haseo said as he brought his hands up. To his surprise the robot fell silent and waited patiently for him. "I, uhm, I…hold on." Haseo moved past the robot and grabbed the bottle on the counter. He popped the lid off and took two of the pills.

"Master, are you in need of medical assistance?" the robot asked with a hint of concern in his metallic voice.

"No." Haseo said softly. "I just need this for my panic attacks. I get them when I'm in a large crowd or something surprising happens."

"Has my appearance startled you?" the robot asked.

"Yes." Haseo hissed as he glared at the robot. "What are you?"

"Master, my name is Vylon Sphere (400/

"Not that." Haseo said sternly and was once again surprised when it fell silent. He wasn't used to having people listen to him. It was oddly disturbing. "I mean…I don't know what I mean." He let out a tired sigh and flopped down onto his bed. Maybe he should just go back to sleep. He'd wake up and this would be a dream that he would laugh off later.

Sphere was silent for a moment before asking, "Master, would you like a report on the events last night?"

"Last night? Uhm, sure I guess."

"Last night at about 2 AM the W Nebula Meteorite crash landed in the park due west of here. Years ago we Vylons helped to defeat the Worms in an alternate universe parallel to yours. I believe you humans call it the Spirit World."

"Wait." Haseo said with a tired sigh. "You mean spirit as in duel spirit?"

"Correct."

"Right. Yeah okay, I remember that I think. The fox and the dragon from last night. They were spirits like you?"

"Indeed." Sphere answered with an odd little tilt that Haseo took to be a nod. "It is not uncommon for spirits of our world to form strong bonds with duelists in your world and become partners."

"And…you're my partner."

"Correct~!" Sphere declared with what would have been a smile had he a visible mouth.

"Right. Okay sure, why not? Continue please."

"Of course Master." He said with another odd tilt. "Though we forced the Worms out of our dimension, they made it into yours. They hid on an asteroid far away from here as they regained their strength until deciding to attack your planet."

"So they weren't aliens, they were duel spirits." Haseo said slowly.

"Oh no. They're aliens from our world."

"Alternate universe duel spirit aliens. Please tell me the rest of this won't be that stupid."

"Oh goodness no!" Sphere cried. "We simply used that as a way to ease you into the idea of being our proxy."

Haseo took a deep breath and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "So in summation, you are my duel spirit partner. The Vylons have chosen me to be their proxy servant thing because they have a sick sense of humor and expect me to fight some horrible coming evil that, according to you, was not the Worms from last night."

"Correct! My master is so smart!"

"Okay, so then why were those other duelists there last night? Like Hikari and Celena."

"Because of the other tribes." Sphere answered. "Every tribe has decided to select a number of proxies in your world to use on our behalf. It is hard for spirits to enter this world without partners and most humans can't handle the strain of multiple partners. So the leaders of each tribe have decided to select humans to pass on the seals of old."

"Seals of old?" Haseo asked again bitterly.

"From the original tribes." He answered. "The six tribes ruling the world are not the original. Long ago our world was filled with many tribes but things ended very badly for them when the Worms invaded. We Vylons helped them to defeat the Worms but things went south after that and we were sealed away for some time. Then we woke up to a new threat called the Steelswarm! The Steelswarm are hideously ugly bug monsters that have been trying to rule the spirit world! We managed to repel them with the help of the other six tribes, but now they have come here to try taking over yours! Either that or the others went because they already have spirit partners and their spirits sensed the Worms were coming and told them to go fight. I didn't have time to ask last night."

"You're surprisingly unhelpful for an exposition fairy."

"Sorry Master. I'm a little scatterbrained."

"So I've been chosen by Vylons to fight against the Worms and Steelswarm to protect this world from them taking over. The other duelists at the park are out to help. Maybe. Is that the right?

"Yes!" Sphere declared with another nod.

"Will you kill me?"

"As your servant I cannot allow anything to harm you Master." Sphere answered proudly.

"One thing still bugs me." Haseo paused and contemplated that. "Well no, all of this bugs me but one thing is still unanswered. How did I get home and in bed?"

"Miss Celena took you home last night. After the duel you passed out so she helped you home. Then when we got home I undressed you and got you in bed."

"How and why did you do that!" Haseo cried in horror with his eyes wide. "On second thought, no. I'd rather not know. I just…don't need to know that." He forced himself out of bed and sighed. "I need to go see Celena." He decided. "I-wait she didn't see anything last night did she!"

"See anything? She never came inside if that's what you mean."

"Oh thank God. I need to tell her about all of this and see what she thinks. Last night when she came to the park she seemed to have a good idea of what was happening so maybe she'll be able to explain it better."

"Have I not pleased you Master?" Sphere asked. Though he had no tear ducts, nor really any eyes, he somehow managed to look like he was about to cry.

"No." Haseo answered with a tired smile. "It's fine. I at least know what happened last night. You chose me to be your servant. I am honored, I guess. Terrified, but honored all the same."

"Well you get perks." Sphere said happily. "You got a new deck last night!"

"…what!"

Haseo looked around for his deck and tore it off of his desk. He sorted through the cards, his face gradually growing more and more upset. "Whaaaaat?" he whined. "But…no…" He let the deck to drop to his desk and it scattered over it. "No…" he whimpered as he sat in his chair. "Where are my cards?"

"Master what's wrong?" Sphere asked worriedly. "Is your new Vylon deck not good? I picked the cards for you myself."

"Gogogo Golem is gone."

"Yes."

"And Gagaga Gardna?"

"Of course!"

"Even Marshmallon?"

"Oh especially Marshmallon! Oh. Wait no, Marshmallon is still there. That card fits the Vylon deck well. Mage Power is there too. I replaced your deck mid-duel last night to finish off the Worms. Do you not remember beating the Worms with your new Vylon cards? Yes I'll admit it was cheating by your standards, but there were things a little more important than following rules."

"Oh." Haseo murmured. "That…that was nice of you. Y'know, for saving me and all. That was cool. Thanks."

"Master what's wrong?" Sphere wondered as he flew closer. "Have I made you upset? How?"

"Those cards were special to me." Haseo answered softly. "I made that deck on my own. I bought pack after pack with money I earned from chores to finally make a deck I was happy with. It was really defensive, but I really liked it. Yukiko offered to buy me a deck but I wanted to make one on my own. I wanted to make one I could be happy with. I don't even know what most of these cards do."

"Oh." Sphere sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know they had sentimental value to you."

"No." Haseo said as he collected the cards. "I'm just being overdramatic. They saved me last night, so I really don't have any place to complain. Thank you Sphere. Let's go to Celena's house for now and we'll see." Haseo stopped when his cell phone rang. He visibly brightened when Celena's name appeared on it. "Hello?" he said cheerfully. "Hey Celena! We were just talking about you! Huh? Oh, my new…friend I guess? Oh. You already now. Right. You were there last night. Okay. We are? Oh thank goodness! Yes, I'll be over right away!" Haseo hung up and pocketed his phone. "Change of plans. We're going to the card shop where Celena works. Some of the people from last night are there too!"

"How convenient!' Sphere chirped. "They can tell you for themselves why they came to the park last night to help!"

"Yes. Celena always knows what to do and how to make things better." Haseo said with a warm smile. He put his cell phone in his pocket and marched downstairs. He paused when he realized the robot was following him. "Wait. What about you?"

"Humans without spirit partners are unable to see me. Though there are some who are able to see spirits naturally."

"So it should be fine if you get close to Yukiko." Haseo said with a nod. "Okay. Don't speak to me if Yukiko is around. I don't need any distractions or you bugging me. She can tell in an instant."

"Who is this Yukiko person Master?" Sphere wondered as he followed after Haseo.

"She's my mother." Haseo replied. "My adoptive mother I mean, and she used to be my doctor too. She still is I guess. She's really nice and very kind and she's helped me so much. I'm a mess but I used to be a lot worse. Without her or Celena I'd be dead right now."

"Oh Master, perish the thought!" Sphere cried. "I'm sure you'd be able to pull through your hardships on your own! You are very strong."

"I'm not." Haseo said quietly. "I'm really not. I'm always getting help from other people. Just once I'd like to be able to do something on my own."

"You repelled the Worms last night." Sphere said mater-of-factly.

"Well yes, but things would have gone far worse if the others hadn't appeared and pushed the spawn back." Haseo mumbled. "And I would have died if you hadn't changed my deck."

"I merely changed the deck. You were the one to pull off the OTK." Sphere hummed cheerfully.

Haseo just shook his head. "I only did what anyone would have. It's not like it's hard to piece something like that together. Yukiko is probably at work, so we can just go. I don't go there often but I have the way to the card shop memorized." Haseo grabbed his key off of the counter and walked out the front door. Sphere slowly followed behind him as he was propelled by the unknown force guiding him.

As Haseo walked Sphere followed him loyally. He remained completely silent as Haseo walked down the sidewalk to the card shop a few blocks away. Sphere floated above Haseo as they walked, knowing that he wasn't allowed to speak with so many people around. Haseo would look up at him on occasion but chose to ignore him for the most part.

Haseo turned the corner and saw the card shop on the other side of the street. It was at this point that Sphere spoke up. "Master, I am detecting three duel spirits coming from that shop. One is very minor, but the other two have compacted themselves and are much stronger. My readings indicate one pyro, one dragon, and one spirit of unknown type and energy coming from the shop. I would suggest you proceed with caution just in case something goes awry. In addition, there seems to be an odd force emanating from this building and I-Master please wait!"

"Explain while you float." Haseo answered as he walked inside the card shop. "I've been here before, I'm sure it's nothing."

It was a nice little card shop designed in much the same way as the card vendor had been the night before. Lines of glass cases were filled with cards, mostly duel monsters but also some other types like Magic, Pokemon, and Vanguard. A large refrigerator was behind the counter, and lining the side walls were shelves with DVDs and video games. Celena smiled as Haseo walked up to her.

"Master you're heart rate is increasing rapidly! Do you need your medication?" Sphere asked as Celena hugged Haseo.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" Celena cried as she tightened her arms. "I figured you'd be alright after I got you home but even so I was still worried!"

Haseo, his face slowly going from tomato red to cherry blossom pink, slowly said "I'm glad you're happy too. I'm glad you're alright." He smiled a little as he slowly wrapped his arms around Celena's waist. He could smell her cherry scented shampoo. He smiled a little, wishing the moment could last forever. Just the two of them embracing like that forever.

Celena pulled away and went back around the counter. She was either oblivious to Haseo's disappointment or simply chose not to address it. "Come on into the back." She offered. "There are some people here."

"Okay." Haseo agreed with a little nod.

"Master your heartbeat has become very erratic." Sphere said as he flew around Haseo. "Are you certain you are alright?"

"I'm fine." Haseo mumbled.

"He's cute." Celena said as she looked at Sphere. "Vylon Sphere right? Thanks for helping us when you did."

"Of course!" Sphere said proudly. "I am here to serve Master Haseo and succeed in my mission to defeat the Steelswarm! However, if I can help others along the way then I am more than happy to lend a helping hand!"

Celena smiled at the happy little robot and nodded. "Just be sure to take care of Haseo okay? He's a bit weak mentally speaking, but I know he'll grow stronger if he's with you."

"Yes, Master has very low self-confidence." Sphere said with a nod. "But I will groom him into a wonderful knight so that he may vanquish the evil we face!"

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not even here…"

Celena led the two into the backroom. It was very large in contrast to the opening room. Celena explained that this was the room Yosuya used for tournaments and she kept a lot of folding tables and folding chairs to set things up with. One of the large tables had been unfolded and sitting around it were three other people. Haseo recognized all of them but one stuck out more than the others.

"Y-Y-You're Jin!"

"Jun." the young man correct. "Darn announcer kept getting my name wrong. It's one letter! Who could honestly be that stupid?"

Heh, yeah. Who could be that stupid, right? So anyway, Haseo took a seat next to _Jun _and was still awestruck by the mere presence of _Jun. Jun _offered him a warm smile in return as a small fox appeared on _Jun_'s shoulders. "This is Fox Fire, and my name is _Jun _Kirman. Nice to meet you Haseo."

"Y-You know m-m-m-my name?" Haseo stammered. "He's famous and he knows my name."

"I'm not that famous!" Jun laughed. "I've been a tournament player for a while but last night was the farthest I've ever gotten."

"It wasn't even that good." Yukino said, her arms crossed in front of her. "You got creamed last night. You realize you could have won if you sued Rush Recklessly earlier right?"

"Heh, yeah I know." Jun chuckled. He gave a shrug and said, "I got a little overexcited and missed my chance. I'm not going to give up though. I'm already getting ready for the tournament next week."

"AH! Master help!"

The trio looked over to see Fox Fire standing on Sphere. The fox was carefully walking around, rolling sphere under him and riding on him. The little fox looked absolutely delighted to have a toy to play with. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!" Sphere kept chanting. "Help!" the little fox continued to roll him around happily until the two bumped into a black talon. Fox Fire let out a squeak as he was knocked to the ground. He glared up at the tall black dragon in front of him. "Kyu~!" he growled.

"Adorable." The dragon grunted. He reached down over the fox and lifted him up in one claw. Haseo watched in horror as the large, though not as large as one might expect, dragon lifted the fox up. The two met eye to eye, light grown glaring at pure crimson. Haseo watched fearfully as the ground slowly set the fox back down on Sphere and pet his head. "Good boy." He hissed as he scratched an ear. Fox Fire grinned, sitting on Sphere and rubbing his head on Red-Eyes' claw.

"Awww." Jun said.

Yukino rolled her eyes. "He's a softy."

"So can I ask something?"

"You just did Haseo, but I'll let you ask another question for a dollar." Jun said with a cheeky grin.

Haseo blushed a little before continuing. "Why did you guys come to the park last night?"

"Because he made me." Yukino said, motioning to the large dragon with her soda bottle. "He woke me up last night complaining about feeling a disturbance in the force,"

"I didn't say that."

"And more or less threw me out of bed and made me go to the park." Yukino finished. She took a large chug from her bottle. "I thought he was overreacting but then I had to save your ass so all in all I'm glad I went I guess. Still kinda tired though."

"Mostly the same for me." Said Jun. "I was still awake last night though. I just got to the city a little while ago and I'm not completely used to the time difference yet. Fox Fire was going crazy over something and I figured since I was still dressed I might as well see what was up. Normally the little guy doesn't get that worried over stuff so I figured it was something but I never imagined that kind of something!"

"My computer picked it up." The boy in front of the laptop said. He looked up and offered Haseo a small smile. "We haven't met have we? My name is Ryan. We spoke briefly at the tournament. As luck would have it, I was the one sitting next to you."

"Your computer?" Haseo wondered. Sphere, finally free of his torment by the fox, flew over to the computer. Ryan didn't pay him any mind as the robot buzzed around him.

"This piece of hardware is fascinating!" he cried. "I sense Genex technology inside!"

"A friend of mine made it for me." Ryan explained, continuing to ignore Sphere. "It has several spirit sensors on it, as well as a few other handy pieces of equipment. I witnessed what happened last night, though sadly I wasn't able to do much as I don't have a spirit of my own."

"Wow." Haseo said as he stared at the computer. "Can I see it?"

"No."

"Be nice Ryan." Celena scolded. Ryan scoffed and shut his laptop to prove his point. Celena rolled her eyes as she set a bottle of tea in front of Haseo. "On the house." She said with a smile. "I called you over so you could meet these guys. Sphere gave me a brief explanation of what happened last night, but we'd like a more full explanation if you can."

Haseo frowned. "What about the others?"

Celena answered, "Not everyone was able to make it today but I should be able to track them down and explain everything if they don't know already. You didn't see them did you? There were a lot of people there last night Haseo. They all saw what you did."

"A-A-A-All of them d-d-d-d-did?" Haseo stammered as his body began to shake. "H-H-How many were there?"

"Thirty at least." Ryan answered. "It's a big city so maybe even more. This is a big city where lots of duelists gather. As such, there are many duel spirits that inhabit the city. Even some that don't have human partners. You may not realize it Haseo, but you're today's gossip of this world's duel spirit population."

"Hear that Master? We're famous!"

"I think I feel sick." Haseo answered as his face paled. "All those spirits and their human friends talking about me. 30 at least, maybe even more."

"No doubt there's more." Ryan corrected.

"I need somewhere to hide." Haseo whimpered.

"God you're a baby!" Yukino cried. "Man up! You did a good thing! People are talking! Why is that bad?"

Jun smirked a little as he said, "I think someone's jealous they weren't the ones to repel an alternate universe alien invasion~!"

"I think someone better shut up before they get kicked in the balls."

Sphere looked to the distraught boy, his face planted firmly on the table. "Master shall I explain why I am here with you?" Haseo gave a small nod but did not get off the table. Sphere nodded before introducing himself and beginning his tale. He explained about the Worms, the Steelswarm, why he had helped Haseo, and about the other tribes that were long gone now.

"We don't even know where to begin." Haseo sighed. "I don't want to even think about fighting the Steelswarms. At least not until I can find the other duelists with the other seals. Maybe then we'd have a chance, but I can't do this on my own. I probably can't even do it with their help either."

"Master…"

"Don't worry!" Jun said as he put a hand on Haseo's shoulder. "We'll help you out in any way we can."

"What do you mean we?" Yukino snapped.

"I meant Fox Fire and I." Jun corrected. "But of course the more the merrier."

Yukino smirked as she sat back in her chair. "Like I'd pass up on an opportunity like this! Haseo might be the one who's been touched by Vylons, but that doesn't mean it only involves him. I don't care who they are, if this Steelswarm thing wants to screw around with my city then they've got another thing coming. We'll strike down anyone that tries hurting this city! Right Red?"

The dragon looked up suddenly at the mention of his name. "What? Oh, uh yes right. What she said."

"That's precisely why I'm here." Ryan said. "You'll need my help if you want to find a handful of people in this big city. My friend and I will be glade to help."

Celena smiled and pulled Haseo off of the table. She sat him up and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll always be there to help Haseo. You've never let me down and I'll never let you down. Even if we have to talk to every person in this city individually we'll find the people we need to."

Haseo smiled weakly at her. "Thank you.' He said. "When I first heard about all of this I think I went into a shock. It's nice to know I'm not going crazy though. I'm still not sure I'm the right person to do this, but I think if I have you helping me Celena then I can do it. We need to track down the other people who have the other seals. Things will go a lot easier if we all work together."

"Well said." Jun cheered. "Only one question though. How on earth do we even begin to look!"


	5. Chapter 5

So I knew what to do for this chapter but had no drive what so ever. I got bored and was looking up stuff on the Magami Tensei wiki for Persona 4 Golden and Arena when suddenly inspiration struck so here you go. It's finally time to start branching out to other characters and giving them screentime, starting with this guy. Hope you all like it~! I highly suggest you look the cards up on the YGO wiki if you can't visualize them properly. I could spend two full paragraphs on some of the monsters in this chapter describing their awesome otherworldliness.

Also, whoever figures out the hidden foreshadowing gets a free internet cookie.

Chapter 4: Lhe Tagician's Messon

"Go, Magical Blast!" The boy declared, showing his card. A large purple ball of energy formed from it and shot forward. It exploded brilliantly as it crashed into the towering soldier of rock. The creature stumbled back, its head smoking. "Now, Endymion attack! Moonlight Magic!" The mighty wizard brought his staff up as energy surged into it. A silver white light glowed from the tip as he held it up in both hands.

"Get down and die!" he cried as he unleashed the massive beam of pure destruction. It crashed into the golem; erasing its head completely and blowing its arms clean off. The construct walked forward a step before crashing to the ground in a heap. Endymion twirled his staff around and struck a pose. "You underestimate our abilities." He stated with a smirk hidden beneath his helmet.

The dark chamber was filled with a slow clapping as the golem slowly rose back up. Its arms floated into the air and reattached themselves, while a new head was molded form its thick chest. "Yeah not bad." The man said as the chamber was filled with light form the hanging chandelier. "Still, you could have done better."

"Yes Master." Zumito said with a low bow.

"He wasn't that bad." Edymion interjected. "Cut him some slack Alexander."

The man frowned and shook his head. "Endymion you're too soft on him. Zumito, I expect this form you." He stepped forward and in a flash his appearance changed completely. His tan skin turned pale blue, his suit replaced with skin tight leather, belts, red buckles, and rings. He held his staff out at the golem who charged at him.

Golem: 4000

Alexander: 4000

"I summon Royal Magical Library (0/2000)!" A massive bookcase appeared before the master magician, its shelves lined with ancient texts filled with magic. "I activate the field spell Magical Citadel of Endymion!" The room changed immediately, turning into the courtyard of a vibrant glowing palace. The bricks glowed with magic, and a large fountain appeared which sprayed glowing water everywhere.

Royal Magical Library: 1 Spell Counter

The magician brought his wand up and shot a blast at the attacking golem, knocking it back. "The point of this exercise is to think on your feet and win regardless of the dangers being presented. When dealing with hostile monsters they will not always be so willing to wait for your turn to end. Your only chance is to fight back and think quickly! I activate Emergency Teleport to special summon Krebons (1200/400) from my deck!: A madly grinning robot appeared, its body made from purple metal and a visor over its eyes displaying eyes made of lesser and greater than symbols.

Royal Magical Library: 2

Magical Citadel: 1

"I activate three copies of Magical Blast, dealing 200 points of damage for every spellcaster I control!" The mage brought his wand up and fired off three powerful blasts of magic. Each one struck the golem, knocking it further back and off balance.

Royal Library: 5

Magical Citadel: 4

Golem: 3400

"I activate Spell Power Grasp to give my Citadel one new Spell Counter and add a second Spell Power grasp to my hand!" A bright light shone around the fountain and formed into an orb of light floating above it. "Further more, both of my cards gain Spell Coutners when spell cards are activated."

Royal Library: 6

Magical Citadel: 6

"I remove a total of six Spell Counters form my Library to draw two cards, one for every three removed." Two books slid out of the library shelf and flew over to the mage. He took a card from each one and sent the books flying. They crashed into the golem and exploded, knocking him further back. "The only way to win against a monster is to strike their life directly. Simply fending them off means nothing. Only be defeating them in a duel will truly save you."

"I'm tuning together my level two Krebons and my level four Royal Magical Library!" Krebons laughed gleefully as his body exploded into two green stars. They swirled around the bookcase as a green pillar of light covered them. "Synchro Summon! Tempest Magician (2200/1400)!" A tall woman with long black hair appeared, dressed in a thick blue robe. She twirled a demonic sickle around with ease as a little bat demon flew beside her. "When summoned she gains one Spell Counter, and by discarding these two cards she can gain two more." The cards popped and turned into two more bats which flew over to the witch.

Tempest Magician: 3 Spell Counters

"Now, I remove her three and the Magical Citadel's six to deal 500 points of damage times that total!" The witch brought her sickle up as the glowing orbs above the fountain and the bats flew into it. The golem charged at the duo again as she flung her now enormous glowing scythe. It cut through the golem with ease, both halves falling beside the master magician and his witch.

Golem: 0

The witch vanished in a puff of smoke. "That is what I expect from you." The wizard said as he returned to his previous form of a man in a simple suit.

"Yes Master!" Zumito said with a nod. "That was amazing by the way."

"He's just a beginner!" Endymion cried. "You can't expect him to do that much!"

"I can if we expect him to survive." Alexander snapped. "You of all people should be pushing him the hardest. You two are connected. If he dies then so do you."

"I know but I'll protect him!" Endymion insisted.

"How?" Alexander snapped back. "In that form you are nothing more than a spirit. You wouldn't be corporeal even if we returned to our home. We have to push Zumito to be stronger, for his sake and for yours."

Zumito looked between the two and frowned. "It's okay Endymion, really." He said with a serene smile. "I want to be a Master Magician like my dad so you guys can push me as hard as you want. I'd be nothing without my magic so I want to get stronger. Besides, I don't wanna die and deither no you, right?"

"…please stop talking like that. It gets really annoying." Endymion sighed. "I know what you mean but still. I don't want you getting in over your head."

"Little late for that." Alexander grunted. "Look who he's got for a partner and master. An ex-king and a 1st class Master Magician. This kid was in over his head the moment he was born."

"Guess I'm just lucky." Zumito said with a smile. He gasped suddenly, his eyes going wide. "Oh shoot! I totally forgot about my homework again! I hate when that happens. I'll finished ly messon later okay?"

"Yeah sure." Alexander sighed. "It was pretty much over anyway." He waved a hand and the basement door swung open. Zumito rushed out, his duel disk disappearing as he did. Alexander turned to Endymion and glared. "I better not catch you helping him cheat again."

"You won't! Seriously, it was one time. You're not my Master anymore, quite acting like I'm still a kid." Endymion griped as he followed after Zumito. Alexander watched him leave and sighed.

"Sometimes I wonder." He grumbled. He shook his head. "It's always such a pain when Zumito's father is gone. I do hope he returns soon. Still, I promised to help teach the boy and I will. Even if it makes my hair go grey."

Zumito was already hard at work, finishing his assignment. His pen slowly moved by itself over the notebook a she red from his textbook and notes. Though he could write well enough by hand the end result looked very sloppy so he preferred to use magic. He looked up when he felt a subtle change in the air. "Oh cool, Fortuna is here." He said with a smile. He stood up, his pen still writing for a moment before dropping onto the desk. He slipped downstairs quickly and opened the door before a knock even came.

"Hi." He greeted.

"Hey Zumi!" the girl with platinum blonde hair cheered as she walked inside. She wore a pretty white sundress with a wide-brimmed white hat. She stepped inside and waved to Endymion.

"Ah Fortuna. You'll grow into a lovely woman some day." Endymion said with an unseen grin.

"Tou're yerrible." Zumito sighed.

"Aw, thanks Endy!" Fortuna giggled.

"Please come in. I'll get some tea and cookies ready." Zumito offered. "I'm glad you came over actually. Something big happened the other night." He moved to shut the door but squeaked when it was stopped by a black boot. He slid it open as a boy with shaggy black hair stepped inside. He wore torn jeans and a dark blue hoodie with the hood pulled up. His shaggy hair covered his eyes completely. "Oh, you brought Iruka. How…nice."

"Oh I know you don't like each other but he's my boyfriend so please try to be nice to each other?" Fortuna pleaded.

"Of course." Zumitto said with a nod. "I'm always happy to make new friends."

"…sure." The boy said with a nod.

Zumito moved into the kitchen and began to get a tray ready. He quickly filled the teapot with water and added the tea leaves. He floated several cookies out of the cookie jar and onto a plate, and then pulled out three smaller dishes and three tea cups. He opened the tea pot lid and smiled as a warm aroma drifted up. "I do just love magic." He said with a smile as he lifted the tray up and guided it into the living room. He gently set the tray down on the coffee table and personally poured the trio their cups of tea.

Fortuna picked hers up and sipped gently. "Oh you're so good at cooking!" she said. "I wish I was this good but I'm just awful. Even with magic."

"…its okay."

Fortuna smiled as she continued. "So anyway, I heard that in a week there's going to be a big tournament in this city. It's been kept under wraps for a while now but apparently a lot of big names have been invited already. Nobody knows what the prize is but I hear it's supposed to be spectacular!"

"We just finished a tournament." Zumito said. "A pretty big one too."

"Yeah I heard the champ was pretty angry when she heard about it yesterday." Fortuna said with a nod. She bit into a cookie. "She tried keeping cool but you could tell she was pretty pissed. Can't say I blame her though. I mean she's this city's champion and suddenly there's a big huge duel going on and she wasn't even invited! I can sympathize. It'd be so cool to be a part of it!"

"It would be fun." Zumito agreed. "I forgot to register for the last tournament in time."

"I tried warning him." Endymion taunted.

"You are so bad at that!" Fortuna laughed. "Write yourself some notes or something if you need to!"

"I know it's probably my figgest bault." Zumito agreed, his head hanging low. "That and my magical abilities aren't as good as it could be."

"Oh hush, you're the best of all three of us." Fortuna said with a wave of her hand. "Speaking of, I heard something big happened in the park the other night."

Zumito nodded. "That's what I said before." He said before explaining what had happened two nights before. "Then he used my Mage Power card I gave him and beat the Worms back. It was pretty cool but kind of confusing too. It all kind of came out of nowhere. Anyway, then he fainted and his new partner and his friend took him back home. Endymion and I returned here to inform Master what had happened."

"Aw, I wish I had been there for that!" Fortuna whined. "That sounds awesome! I had to go visit my grandparents though. They live in Idaho. Who the hell still lives in Idaho?"

Please note that this story and author has nothing against people living in Idaho. Or any other boring state in that region.

Zumito shrugged. "It was quite amazing but I haven't heard much about it since. I scouted the city yesterday but couldn't find the boy's partner. Not too surprising though, this city is full of duel spirits. So how have your lessons been going?"

Fortuna sighed. "Not too well. I just don't have any talent for magic unless its reading someone's fortune. Oh, do you want me to read your fortune?"

Zumito smiled weakly while Endymion laughed. "Last time you read his fortune you predicted he'd be hit by a falling walrus!"

"Well to be fair he did." Fortuna said as she shot Endymion a nasty look. "It was just a walrus plushy, that's all."

"The point is your predictions are always accurate but never in a helpful way. So I'd rather let fate come as it does instead of worrying over what might happen next."

"Like the time with the ice cream!" Endymion laughed.

"Yeah…like that…"

Fortuna pouted for a moment but shrugged. "Oh fine. I understand. I'll do your fortune latter Iruka."

"…okay."

The trio looked up, though it was rather hard to tell with Iruka, when Alexander walked in. "Mail for you Zumito." He said. He looked to the other two. "Good afternoon Fortuna, Iruka. I trust your Masters are doing well."

"Miss Trisha sends her regards sir." Fortuna said with a polite nod.

Zumito caught the letter his master tossed to him and looked it over thoughtfully. It was a smooth black envelope with a red wax seal. An ornate symbol had been pressed down into the wave, an unbelievable amount of detail in the designs. Zumito's full name was written on the front of the envelope in spindly red ink, but there was no address or return address. Endymion looked it over beside his partner just to be safe.

"Its clean." He said with a nod.

"Duh!" Alexander called in from the kitchen. "I already checked it!"

"I went over it just in case!" Endymion shouted back. "Just in case your age is starting to get to you!"

Zumito gently tore the wax seal only to jump in fright when it envelope burst open in a small explosion of confetti. A red letter slid out of the envelope and onto the table, the envelope itself vanishing into smoke. The little red wax floated into the air. "Testing, testing, is this thing on? Ahem. Good evening. My name is of no importance, you may simply refer to me as Boss. I have cordially invited you to join in what I am calling the First Annual World Duel Championship which will be held in Neo Domino City. You have been selected due to your past dueling skill, notable abilities, or other equally impressive talents which I will withhold in case you don't fall into the category. I'm such a tease. The tournament will begin on June 20th of this year and the preliminaries will last until the 25th. Then, on the 27th the finals will begin, at which point the rules to that will be explained. Enclosed with this envelope is a list of rules for the tournament, a copy of the current banlist, and the location and time that it's starting in. I hope to see you there."

The wax fell silent for a moment as Fortuna set the letter down. "He read it word for word." She said.

"I can't believe we missed this." Endymion said with his unseen eyebrows raised high.

"Right then, you still there?" the wax asked. "You better be. If you got the special talking wax letter then congrats, you're in the third category I mentioned. What's that? Magic of course! This tournament is being held to weed out some special individuals with more than simple cards or talent. I'm offering you a chance to be a hero! To help save this world by proving yourself the strongest in this city! Join me in the tournament and prove yourself! Make your name known to fate!" The wax them promptly packed itself into a ball, fell on the table, and melted.

"…that happened."

"Wow." Fortuna said. "I thought this tournament was big but it's really big! You're going to enter right?"

"Probably not." Endymion grunted. "Alexander's going to keep him away right?"

Everyone turned to Alexander, who had a pensive look on his face. "I…no. No. Enter it Zumito. Win and prove to me just how good you are. I want you come home a winner. Endymion, I expect you to protect him in case anything goes south. Zumito, you're not perfect but you're much better than I usually say you are. I have confidence that you can win."

"Really!" Zumito shouted, his normally calm face turned into one of shock and happiness. "You really think I can win Master!"

"I do." Alexander said with a nod. "Win Zumito, and show your father your trophy when he gets back. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go make a phone call."

Endymion rolled his hidden eyes. 'Subtle' he thought to himself. 'No, you clearly have no idea what's going on here.' He decided not to press the matter though. 'I trust you.' He decided.

Fortuna looked through the little pile of papers that had come with the letter and found the one she was looking for. "It starts on June 20th, at noon. People will be gathered around the center of the city but are encouraged to branch out afterward. Those whoa attend will receive a special item which will keep track of how many duels the person has won or lost. The person must win a total of five duels in two days, but every lose counts against you so if you lose once then you'll have to win six times."

"What a pain." Endymion grumbled. "You better not lose any duels Zumito."

"I'll try not to." Zumito said with a nod. "I do wonder what our host's ulterior motives are though. He's obviously trying to sound enticing and suspenseful, but wo that purpose? How does he know about me? Why does he think I'm notable to invite? I've never been in a tournament before, so this is definitely based off of my magic but…well the truth is I'm vot gery nood."

"Oh hush!" Fortuna scolded. "You're the best mage out of all three of us! All I can do is predict the future, and Iruka takes like hours to get a single spell done. If anyone deserves to go then it's you, and I'm going to help you practice!"

"Called it!" Endymion declared. "I didn't say it out loud but I knew she would say that!"

"I did too actually." Zumito chuckled. "Sure, let's go downstairs and we can duel." Zumito waved his hand, ignoring the insistent look Fortuna gave him, and the dishes and leftover cookies began to put themselves away.

"If nothing else you'll make a very nice house husband for someone someday." Fortuna said with a teasing smile. Zumito lead the two downstairs and brought his hands out, the chandelier coming to life as they arrived in the basement. "I'll let you go first." Fortuna decided. Zumito nodded in thanks. The two brought their right arms up, a bright light enveloping them. The lights stretched and molded into duel disks, Zumito's purple and Fortuna's white. Zumito's looked like an extension of armor, like a gauntlet covering his arm. Fortuna's was simpler on the arm but the board part was a large half-circle with several ornate designs. Their right eyes glowed as a purple tattoo appeared over Zumito's eye and a golden one over Fortuna's left.

"Duel!"

Zumito: 4000

Fortuna: 4000

"I activate Arcane Barrier!" Zumito declared as a shining circle appeared around him. It stretched out to a meter in diameter as several complicated runes appeared within. "I set one card face down and summon Braker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000)!" A portal appeared in the sky and from it a wizard wearing crimson armor appeared. He brought his sword up and the portal was sucked into the blade. The stone on his shield began to glow as he silently challenged Fortuna with his blade. "When summoned he gains one Spell Counter, increasing his attack 300." (1900/1000)

Breaker: 1 SC

Fortuna smiled as she drew a new card. "1900 on the first turn? You're pretty lucky today Zumi! But that luck won't last long. Come, Arcana Force I – The Magician (1100/1100)!" An aura of light appeared around Fortuna as a lanky white person appeared in front of her. Its bottom body was robed in baggy black pants and its shoulders and right arm were protected in black armor. Its face was blank, save for the blue eyes. It chest was flat, but it had an odd hourglass figure. "When summoned a coin is flipped, the result of which determines its effect!" The Magician waved its hand, a silver coin flying out of the ground and landing.

Heads!

"Fantastic!" Fortuna cheered. "I activate my continuous spell Fountain in the Sky!" A massive fountain erupted behind Fortuna. "My Magician's attack is now doubled because of its effect (2200/1100)! Attack, Magic Trick!" The Magician brought its hands out as several warped clones appeared around it. They flew at breaker, grabbing at his armor and tearing into him.

Zumito: 3700

"Arcane Barrier gains one Cpell Sounter when a spellcaster is destroyed." Zumito said.

Arcane Barrier: 1 CS

"I set one card and end my turn." Fortuna finished. The clones that had been shifting around the Magician vanished (1100/1100). "Getting beat down by a magician. How ironic." Fortuna teased with a cute little smile.

"I know." Zumito answered with a serene grin. "I feel sorry for your monster. I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400/1400)." From another portal came a large two-headed dog with alternating blue and purple fur. It wore black magical armor similar to Breaker's. The left head was roaring ferociously and looked like a wolf, while the left head was silent and sleek like a fox. "I activate Spell Power Gather to give him two Spell Counters, one for the card's effect and one for his own effect."

Cerberus: 2 SC

"Did you know the correct way to pronounce Cerberus is actually closer to Kerberos? The pronunciation was lost somewhere along the line in America, but certain places still spell and pronounce it with a hard K noise."

"I didn't actually. Did you know that despite looking like a Beast my monster is actually a Spellcaster?" Zumito said with a smile. "Anyway, Kerberus gains 500 attack points for coth Bounters (2400/1400). Attack!" The wolf (wolves?) launched forward towards the Magician as a large circle appeared under them. "Trap card open, Magician's Circle! When a Spellcaster monster attacks I can activate this, which allows us to special summon one Spellcaster from our respective decks so long as they have 2000 or fewer attack points."

Fortuna gasped. "All I've got are Fairies!" she cried.

"Sorry." Zumito offered sincerely. "I summon Disenchanter (2000/2300)." A tall woman in a tight purple dress appeared. She wielded a long golden staff, and her equally long red hair was tied back in a complicated braid. Kerberos tore into the Magician. "My Fountain in the Sky allows me to remove Magician from play to gain life equal to his attack."

Fortuna: 2800

Kerberos: 0 SC

"After attacking Kerberos loses his Spell Counters." Zumito explained as the beastly mage lost his glow. "Disenchanter, attack!"

"Trap card open, Compulsory Evacuation Device! This card forces one monster on the field back to the owner's hand!" A large machine appeared beside Fortuna. It sucked up the Disenchanter through the front and shot her flying into the air out the top. She let out a terrified scream as she crashed into Zumito and turned back into a card. "Oh! Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…I'm good…"

"Uhm, my turn?"

"I set a card face down. Now it is."

"Kay. Sorry." Fortuna apologized again as she took her card. "I activate Cup of Ace. A coin is flipped and if its heads then I draw two cards. If its tails, you get to." A large golden goblet appeared and from it sprang a golden coin. It flipped through the air and landed. "Oh wow, heads again!" Fortuna cried in shock. She took her new cards and set them both face down. "Come, Arcana Force VI – The Lovers (1600/1600)!" A strange monster appeared before Fortuna. It had a vaguely female shape, with the bottom of its body looking like a dress. Its shoulders and chest were covered in large pink orbs and it had its long arms hanging limply at the side. "Coin flip!" Fortuna ordered.

Heads

"Wait, really!"

Yes

"Amazing!" Fortuna laughed. "I'm on fire today! Now Lovers can count as two sacrifices if its used to summon an Arcana Force monster."

"I keep noticing you use the phrase its when describing your monster. Not even you know their gender?"

"I'm not even sure they have one." Fortuna said as she stared at Lovers. "Look, truthfully? I've been using these things for a year or two now and they even creep me out. Attack!" Lovers brought its arms out which extended with horrifying speed. They wrapped around Kerberus' two necks and squeezed them violently.

Zumito: 3500

Arcane Barrier: 2 SC

"Turn end." Fortuna said.

"I set one monster and one card. Turn end." Zumito said as he slid his cards into place. He grimaced. "Oh. There are two of them now."

He was referring to the now cloned Lovers. "I sacrifice my Lovers to summon Arcana Force XVIII – The Moon (2800/2800)!" The two monsters floated into the air and rammed into each other, creating a blinding light. From that light came a horrible abomination which crawled along the ground in pain. Its tope half was heavily armored and had long metal armors reminiscent of the Lovers'. In its stomach was a strange alien being with a bulbous head and angry glare. However, from the waist down it was little more than a large cancerous lump of pulsing red flesh.

"I really like these cards, but I really wish they weren't so disgusting."

"Agreed."

"…yeah."

"Coin flip!" Fortuna continued, soon followed by a "Holy crap!" when it landed on heads. "Okay cool! During my standby phase I get one Moon Token! Until then, attack!" The Moon brought its hand up and fired a large sphere of light at the hidden monster. It flipped itself over to reveal a hunched over man in massive orange armor.

"Old Vindictive Magician!" Zumito declared. "When flipped he destroys one monster on the field!" The man let out a crazed laugh as he launched a powerful beam form his staff and into the large monster. It roared mournfully as the two met a mutual destruction.

Arcane Barrier: 3 SC

"I activate Reverse Reborn to special summon Lovers back from the graveyard with its tails effect" Fortuna said as Lovers reappeared. "I can't tribute summon arcane Force monsters, but with these things the effect could be much worse. Turn end."

"I summon Hannibal Necromancer (1400/1800)!" A large beast appeared, its body dark blue with yellow spines lining its back. It had odd mantis-like arms that ended on large sharp claws. Its bulging eyes glowed red. "I activate Magical Dimension! This card lets me offer Hannibal to special summon one spellcaster in my hand!" A large ornately declared golden coffin appeared. It sucked Hannibal Necromancer into the center cavity over it and exploded to reveal Endymion (2700/1700) "Further more, it destroys one monster on the field." The coffin reappeared and absorbed Lovers before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Attack?" Endymion offered.

"No. First, I discard Bagical Mlast to destroy her face down card."

"That works." Endymion decided as he brought his staff up. There were no explosions or beams, the hidden card simply shattered. "Now?"

Zumito nodded. "Now."

"Boom!" Endymion declared as he formed an explosion around Fortuna.

Fortuna: 100

"My move!" Fortuna declared. "I set one monster and end my turn."

"I activate the effect of Magical Blast, allowing me to skip my draw and add it to my hand instead." Zumito said as he reclaimed his card. "I discard it to destroy your monster. Let me guess. The Fool?"

"Yeah…" Fortuna admitted.

The hidden monster was shattered into dust.

"Attack!" Zumito cried.

"Crap!" Fortuna cried as her life points tumbled down.

Fortuna: 0

"Fate dealt me a poor hand." She sighed. "Or rather, fate dealt you a better hand."

"Its okay, I just got lucky." Zumito said. "Want to duel again?"

"Sure!" Fortuna said with a smile.

Meanwhile, a few miles further into the city, Haseo sat at his table staring at the previously talking wax. "Master," Sphere said. "I predict a 95 percent chance of finding something useful by attending this tournament. I highly suggest you enter this tournament in order to discover people that will be able to help our cause!"

Haseo sighed, putting his weary face in his hands. "I was afraid you'd say that."

A few more miles away, Jun sat in his hotel room with a smile. Fox Fire batted the ball of wax around curiously, hoping it would start speaking again. "Sounds like fun huh?" he asked his friend.

"Kyu~!"

A couple streets over Yukino looked over her letter curiously, rolling the ball of wax in her hand. "This could be fun." She said with a devious smile.

"Get off my car!"

"Piss off, I'm busy!" Yukino snapped back.

And of course, sitting in her office was Yosuya sipping form a beer bottle. She had failed to get an invitation but she was still quite happy. After all, "Tournaments mean big business!"


	6. Chapter 6

Ta-da! Updated on the 20th! Let's see how far I can keep that up! I doubt I'll be able to finish the tournament stuff in five days though.

If anybody out there has an idea for a one shot duelist then feel free to submit the characters. If you think seeing your character or another duel against a certain deck then let me know! I aim to make the readers happy.

Chapter 5: A Bond Proven by Victory

"Everybody listen!" the tall man declared from on stage. He was wearing an impeccable black suit with a flowing red cape. His skin was pale, his hair a silver ivory. A microphone was held in his hand and several cameras were trained on him. Above him was a large TV screen, reflecting his image for the audience gathered in the central square to see.

"Duelists from all over have flocked to this city, all for the sake of winning the First Annual World Duel Championship!" The crowd below cheered loudly, a happy smile appearing on the man's face as he basked in his own glory. "Be you a foreign tournament winner, or an up and coming duelist, I know that you'll all put on a spectacular show for me! Now, let's go over the rules!"

The man reached back into his cape and from nowhere pulled out a silver wrist band. "Say hello to you D-Recorders! These will keep a simple checklist of your progress through the tournament! It'll record all of your wins and losses! You're goal is to win five times in as many days. But be careful! Because for every loss, you'll have to win another duel! Lose five times? Then you'll need ten victories to make it to the finals!"

"Will you be a hunter? Will you be prey? Ties are neutral by the way; they don't count for or against anyone. And now, onto out main rule for this tournament, City Fields!" A montage of city locations flashed over the screen as the man continued. "Several areas of the city have been given a special AR-Link codes that will initiate special field spells! Duel by the sea? Then Legendary Ocean! Duel upon on a high building? Who knows? There are plenty of brand new field spell cards hidden in this city! Will you hide in wait in the proper place, or will you bravely hunt down others regardless of terrain? It's all up to you in this, the First Annual World Duel Championship!"

Haseo looked around frantically as he moved through the park. A lot of people were around, some of them talking about a duel or something. Haseo didn't care though, he had to find Celena! They had been at the opening ceremony together that morning, but the next thing he knew she was gone!

"Master, please wait!" Sphere cried as he chased after the panicking boy. "I'm sure we can find Celena, you just need to calm down and thick about this logically! Please Master, I can't keep up!"

"How can I calm down! I have to find Celena! Wait, Sphere! Can't you use your radar to track her?" Haseo paused and turned to his partner. Sphere stopped just before crashing into him. Though one must wonder if that would actually mean anything for a spirit. Sphere slowly floated back as he explained.

"There is too much going on around here." He said. "All of these duel spirits are jamming my radar. It will be very difficult for me to pinpoint anyone's location at this time, especially if we're not close to them. Ah! Master please don't start running again!"

"I have to find Celena!" Haseo cried back. He stopped as he tackled into someone, tripping back. He lost his balance and crashed onto the hard ground. "Ow…" he whimpered. Sphere caught up to him, floating above him slowly.

"Thank goodness I can't feel exhaustion." He said.

"I-I'm sorry!" Haseo cried as he forced himself up and went to help the girl he had tackled to the ground. "Oh gosh, oh man, I-I-I'm so so sorry!" he stammered. "I was just in such a hurry and I wasn't looking where I was going and have you seen a girl with red hair around here because I'm looking for her right now and, wait aren't you Hikari from that duel the other night?"

The young woman looked Haseo over as she strained her suit out. She looked to Sphere, Haseo gasping a little as he realized she could see him. "I see. Yes, you'll do nicely."

"I'll…what?" Haseo asked, confused and just a little afraid. He looked behind Hikari and gasped, seeing Anu Piranha standing behind her with her arms folded. He winced under the two women's icy stares.

"You were in the audience of that duel the other night." Hikarki said with a smile. "And yes, I remember you from the other night. When the Worms attacked. You weren't doing too well, but you managed to pull off a victory in the end. Rather impressive, and I don't hand out compliments easily."

"Th-thank you." Haseo stammered. On the inside though, it was a bit more like _Oh my God someone famous just praised me!_

Hikari smiled a little as she stepped closer to Haseo. He backed away on instinct, feeling his heart beat faster. "How about we have a duel?" Hikari said gently.

"I, uh, wait, I, Celena, lost, I don't…"

Sphere flew between the two quickly. "Excuse me Hikari-san, but may I speak with Master on my own for a moment?" Sphere flew back over to Haseo as Hikari stepped away. "Master, her partner is X-Saber Anu Piranha!"

"Y-yeah?" Haseo mumbled.

"The X-Sabers were one of the clans of ancient times. Remember? Wars, Worms, Vylons, sealed away, Steelswarm? The reason we're here? If she's descended from the X-Saber clan, then there is a chance Hiakri-san is meant to inherit the X-Saber's power! Duel her! We may have already found a new ally!"

"Hikari, what are you doing?" Anu Piranha asked calmly. "Do you really intend for him to be your fifth win? I thought you entered to find a challenge, not make little mentally unstable boys cry."

"You saw him beat the Worms the other night." Hikari answered. "And he was invited to this tournament. It's simple. I'm going to take him, what was it? Haseo? I'm going to take Haseo and teach him. I'll mold him into my perfect rival so I'll finally have someone to challenge me and make me improve my own skills."

"Seems like a lot of work for little pay off. I can understand wanting strength but…" Anu Piranha looked over at Haseo who was downing an unknown number of pills. "He seems a little fragile and easily broken. We'll have to be careful if you really want to do this."

"True…" Hikari sighed. "Maybe we should find someone else to duel him instead. As you say, I'd like my last victory to have meaning. Who should duel him though?"

"Oh goodness! Are you alright?"

Hikari smiled. "Sometimes life just lines it up for you."

"I'm looking for my friend." Haseo said meekly. "She's got red hair and blue eyes and a blue jacket on. She's really pretty and she's really nice. We got separated earlier after that Boss guy started the tournament and I've been looking for her ever since."

"I see." The girl sighed. "She must be very important to you if you feel so lonely without her around."

"Excuse me?" Hikari asked as she and Anu Piranha approached the two.

"Goodness!" the girl cried. "What a cool demeanor! So purposeful and determined, you're the kind of person who will do anything to get what she wants! How admirable. I can respect determination like that. My name is Lila; it's nice to meet you."

"My name is Hikari and I believe this young man is named Haseo. I was wondering if you could help us."

"Help you?"

"Help us how?" Haseo questioned. "Is she going to help find Celena?"

"Not exactly." Hikari answered with a smile. "I'd like you two to duel one another."

"Wh-what!" Haseo cried in shock. "But…but Celena!"

"Duel him?" Lila hummed. "Yeah, okay! Duels can make people happy, even if their tournament duels! If I duel Haseo than that's sure to make him happy! If we have a really big one, it might even get your friend's attention!"

Haseo looked up, his eyes full of hope. "You really think so?" he asked.

"It's worth a shot!" Lila answered with a smile and a nod. "I can feel how scared and lonely you are. I can't possibly let someone feel like that any longer, so I'll do whatever I can to help!"

"I guess so…" Haseo muttered. He reached into his pocket and slipped his D-Gazer on. He looked to Sphere who nodded in agreement. "How did I go from looking to Celena to dueling someone I don't even now?" Haseo wondered as he activated his duel disk.

Hikari sat down on the bench to the side of the two duelists. "If she's so important to him, I wonder why he didn't try her cell phone." She mused. "Well whatever. Duel!"

Haseo: 4000

Lila: 4000

"I…wait. Who's the challenger? Who's going first? Have we even been following that rule lately? Usually someone just says they're going first and nobody argues with it. Can I go first or,"

"Too late, I play Red Medicine!"

Lila: 4500

"Oh. Okay then."

"Then I play Ookazi!" A stream of fire erupted form the card Lila held up, engulfing Haseo.

Haseo: 3200

"Next, I summon Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness (1800/1500)!" A geyser of water erupted form the ground and swimming through it was a tall warrior with dark purple armor. He landed, pulling a long yellow trident from the geyser as it died down. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"I, wait, what just happened!"

"Come on, keep up!" Lila laughed. "It's your turn!"

"Right, yeah okay! This is a tournament. I have to win! Then when I see Celena again she'll be pleased with me!"

"Master, you have a one track mind."

"I summon Vylon Vanguard (1400/1000)!" In a burst of light a machine descended from the sky. Its main body was white while its arms and shoulders were covered in heavy golden armor. Its eyes were emerald green. "I equip him with Vylon Material!" In a pillar of light a bizarre machine fell form the sky. It attached to Vanguard's arm, the golden top tightening around his arm, as the central white part extended. The emerald tip glowed brightly as energy sped down the newly mounted wrist-blade. (2000/1000) "Attack!"

The machine thrust its arm out, the blade extending and piercing the warrior and Lila.

Lila: 4300

"I set one card. Turn end."

"Not bad, but it'll take more than that!" Lila declared. "Trap card open, Call of the Haunted!" Haseo gasped in horror as the ground was suddenly torn up, the warrior clawing its way back up to life. "I set one card and activate Reload!" Lila slid her hand into her deck, the automatic shuffler doing the rest. She drew her hand once more and smiled. "I summon you, Aqua Madoor (1200/2000)!" A robed wizard appeared, its face covered by a white mask. Its wild blue hair swirled around it as if it was under water. "Next I activate my face down spell card, Big Wave Small Wave!"

"Oh crap!" Haseo cried.

"Clever!" Sphere declared. "She kept her trump card safe from Reload by hiding it!"

"This will destroy my two Water monsters, but in return I get to summon two new ones!" A massive wave formed behind Lila, crashing down and taking her wizard and warrior with it. But as the water swirled, two creatures emerged from the depths. A scaly green monster leapt out, a feral grin on his face. A much larger monster appeared behind it. Its long neck wrapped around the beast as it stared at Haseo. The massive sea serpent roared, the water surrounding the two exploding around them as they dropped down to the field. "Meet Amphibian Beast (2400/2000) and Spiral serpent (2900/2900)!"

"Wow." Hikari said, eyebrows slightly raised. "Not bad. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong potential rival."

"Amphibian, attack!" Lila ordered. Her monster leapt into the air, swimming through it was easily as it would water. He tore into the robot, destroying him completely

"Trap card open, Half Unbreak!" A storm of bubbles emerged form Haseo;'s cards. They converged on his robot, forming a large bubble shield. "During this turn, my monster cannot be destroyed and any damage done to me is halved!

Haseo: 3000

"Go Spiral Serpent! Spiral Wave!" The serpent pulled back and roared, a twisting jet of water spewing out of its mouth. It struck the guarding machine, the bubble shield miraculously holding against the vicious assault.

Haseo: 2550

"Not bad Haseo. Turn end."

"Now Master!" Sphere cried. "Go on the offensive! All she ahs are normal monsters, she's wide open!"

"I'm not good on the offensive!" Haseo cried. "I'm a defensive player. I built my deck all around defense, slowly witling my opponent down and protecting myself. I can't help it. I always second guess myself. I'm always worrying what my opponent has. I can't play like Celena, I'm not strong enough. I built that deck specifically to my taste, but this deck is…never mind. My move!"

Haseo drew a new card and looked over his cards. "Wait…I've got it!" he cried with a small smile. "Okay, I summon Vylon Cube (800/800)!" In a burst of light a white cube shaped robot appeared, its lanky golden arms held out at its side. The center of it was open, revealing a golden power within. "Now, I tune together my level three Cube and my level four Vanguard!"

The golden center of Cuba exploded into three golden stars which swirled around, creating three silver rings. Vanguard leapt into the gates as a pillar of light shot down. "Warm, shining light please answer my call. Defend those who stand by you in their hour of need! Synchro Summon! Guard, Vylon Delta (1700/2800)!" A massive robot floated before Haseo. Its top half was bulky, with heavy white armor and curving, shield-like wings. But the bottom half was like a needle, with three rings circling it. The wings folded in, blocking Haseo.

"When Cube is used for the synchro summon of a Light monster, I can add one equip card in my deck to my hand. I activate it, 7 Completed, to raise my monster's defense by 700!" A massive & brand appeared over the wings (1700/3500). "I end my turn, and during the end phase Delta adds one equip spell in my deck to my hand."

"I don't recall adding 7 Completed." Sphere mused.

"It's a compromise." Haseo answered with a smile. "I can be defensive when I want, and you can be offensive when you want."

"Oh, I see!" Sphere declared as his eyes showed upturned U.

"I set one card and end my turn." Lila said with a shrug. "Can't do much else."

Haseo drew a card. "I end my turn, and gain one more equip."

Lila glared at him. "You're planning something. I can feel it. Sure, okay! Let's have a showdown then. I set one card face down. Let's see what you've got."

"I end my turn." Haseo said, collecting his two cards.

"I set one monster face down. Turn end."

"I end my turn." Haseo said as he grabbed his two cards, dropping some from his hand.

Lila frowned. "I've got nothing. Turn end!"

Hikari frowned. "This is suddenly very boring. Your queen demands entertainment!"

"Yes you Highness!"

"Wow, he's really getting into this."

"The last battle begins now!" Haseo declared.

"W-wait!" Lila cried. "Where's this sudden confidence coming from!"

"I equip Mage Power to my delta!" A shining aura surrounded Delta, the 7 symbol magnifying intensely (2700/4500). "Next, I equip my Vylon Filament, Vylon Component, and Vylon Segment!" A veritable armory formed around Delta. A circular device equipped to his arm, forming a cestus. Metal platting lined the edge of his wings, a golden energy surrounding him. A strange golden metal apparatus slid onto his spiked tip, a pink light emanating from the bottom gem (4200/6000). "Next, I equip Shield attack, swapping Delta's attack and defense (6500/4700)!"

"Wow." Lila said in awe as Delta's wings suddenly turned into massive segmented blades.

"Oh I picked a good one." Hikari said with a smile.

""Delta, attack! Astral Drive!"

Delta spread his wings, a storm of blades appearing from all sides of Amphibian Beast. The monster roared as they converged on him, but Lila wouldn't go without a fight. "Trap card open, Magic Cylinder!"

"It's no use!" Haseo countered. "Vylon Filament protects Delta from your spell and traps until he's done attacking! Go, Delta! Finish her!" The storm of blades continued, tearing through her monster and Lila.

Lila: 0

"That was awesome!" Lila cried. "Wow! This tournament is going to be awesome if there are duelists like you! I mean admittedly I went easy there at the end just to see what you were planning but I never imagined 6500 attack!" Lila stopped as Haseo ran right past her, completely ignoring her comments.

"Celena!" he cried as he threw his arms around the girl standing behind Lila.

"Celena?" Lila asked, looking back at the two. "Oh, so that's her."

"Hey Haseo." Celena said with a smile. "Lila's right, that was amazing. Good finish. Next time equip your cards as you go along though. Most duelists won't be nice enough to let you set up."

"Celena, what happened! Where were you!" Haseo cried in a panic. "You were there and then you weren't and I was so lost and scared and I'm never out in the city on my own and I was so worried!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Celena asked. She held up her wrist, a small green light glowing on her bracelet. "I got challenged to a duel by some guy with a Six Samurai deck. I called out to you, but I guess the crowd was already too thick for you to see or hear me."

"Oh." Haseo muttered, blushing a little. "Oops."

"Yeah oops!" Celena said. "Don't run off like that! I'm supposed to be looking out for you."

"I'm sorry." Haseo said, his face falling. He pulled his bottle out and popped two pills. He took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm calm. I just felt a little overwhelmed seeing you again."

Lila blinked. 'Is that where the surge of confidence came from?' she thought to herself. 'Just by seeing Celena behind me? She really does mean the world to him. I don't think I've ever felt such adoration like this before.' Lila smiled as she walked up to the two. "Haseo that was a great duel! Thanks for showing me a good time! I've got to catch up now though, so please excuse me. I hope I can duel you again in the finals!"

"Uhm, yeah. Bye Lila!" Haseo waved to the girl as she ran off. "Oh Celena! Guess who I met today! Hikari! She's right over at…that…bench. Sphere where'd she go?"

"I don't know." Sphere admitted. "I wasn't actually watching her."

"You met Hikari?" Celena asked in awe. "Wow, what was she like?"

"Kind of weird, a little cold, but I think she was nice. Her spirit was scary though!" The three friends walked off, both duelists content with their victories. Though the tournament had only just begun, Haseo was slowly beginning to feel confident that he'd be able to survive it after all. As long as he had Celena with him anyway.

"Appear now, Mon-Monster: Claw Wolf (1000/1000)!" With a loud howl a little wolf puppy appeared, leaping into the air and landing by his master. His fur was dark gray with some black lines going down his limbs and swirling around his face. "I set two cards face down, and equip him with Spiked Collar!" A black collar appeared around the wolf's neck, long silver spikes circling around it.

"Not good enough!" Yukino cried. "I set two cards and summon my Red Eyes Black Chick (800/500)!" With a small burst of flames the tiny dragon chick appeared, still hiding in his cracked open shell. "I use his effect, evolving him into Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!" The little chick curled up in its shell. The egg reformed around it before expanding and expanding. It exploded open as the fully formed dragon appeared. "Now, attack his wolf!"

"…do I have to?"

Yukino paused, her opponent paused, and even the wolf paused. "What?"

"Well he's just so small and cute. I don't want to hurt him or anything."

"Attack! Attack now!" Yukino ordered.

"Trap card open!" her opponent declared. He was a tall, lanky guy wearing ornate clothes. His shirt was skin tight, with a white rose corsage over his chest, and he had a dark red jacket hanging around his arms rather than his shoulders. He had short black hair and light green eyes. He wore black boots, tight black jeans, and fragile glasses. "For the Sake of my Master! When a Mon-Monster I control is attacked and it's the only monster I control, I can negate the destruction of my monster and any damage done to me." The dragon reluctantly shot a fireball at the wolf, but the beast bravely leapt into it. There was a great explosion, but it quickly became evident that the wolf pup was unharmed.

"Turn end." Yukino finished.

A crowd had begun to gather, watching the duel with great interest. They were dueling in the park, both of them wearing their wrist recorders. The boy drew a new card and smiled. "This is nice huh?" he said. "The tournament is barely underway and already I'm dueling someone challenging. Sort of a shame we couldn't duel in a better setting, but whatever. This works too. Oh, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself before you challenged me did I? My name is Yukio."

Yukio: 4000

Yukino: 4000

"…weird." Yukino said.

"I know right? Pretty funny that our names would be so similar! That never seems to happen y'know? Well anyway, I guess I should continue. I equip my Mon-Monster: Claw Wolf with Speed Claws!" The wolf howled in metal braces appeared on his paws. Three large claws extended from the ends, digging into the ground as he hunched down (2000/1000). "I activate their effect, letting me discard one card from my hand to destroy one spell or trap card on the field." The wolf charged forward, zipping past the dragon and tearing into one of Yukino's hidden cards.

"Asshole." She snapped.

"Next, since I discarded a card from my hand with the effect of a card equipped to the same monster, Spiked Collar lets me draw a new card. And now finally I activate Assured Victory! When I control only one Mon-Monster, and my opponent controls only one monster with attack higher than that monster then for this next battle my Mon-Monster gains 1000 attack! Furthermore, your cards cannot be used to negate this battle or effect!"

The wolf puppy growled, his body overflowing with a silver aura. He howled, unleashing a mighty shockwave. Leaping into the air, the aura expanded around his claws. He dove down and tore through Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The beast fell to his knees, the claw marks shimmering on his obsidian skin. He let out a mournful cry before exploding.

Yukino: 3400

Yukio smiled as his wolf pup happily pranced back over. "That's how this works after all." He said with a shrug. "It doesn't matter if the opponent is stronger, when the pet is supposed to beat him then he'll beat him. Even if it doesn't make sense, or shouldn't happen, it'll always work out. The hero never loses when it counts, and his loyal monster always pulls through. Right?"

"You've been playing a little too much Pokemon." Yukino snapped. "My move! I activate Dark World Dealings, letting us both draw a card and discard a card from our hands!" Yukino dropped the card and grabbed her new on, a smile forming on her face. "Nice." She said as she put it in her hand. "Next, I activate Dragon's Mirror! I remove form play two dragons in my graveyard to summon a fusion monster that needs those two! I remove my Red-Eyes, and my newly discarded Meteor Dragon!"

A massive meteor fell from the sky, impacting so hard it sent the little Claw Wolf flying into the air. The meteor's skin began to crack and break, extending outward. Long wings and thick arms formed. A head on a long neck stretched out from the hard rock. "Come forth, Meteor Black Dragon (3500/2000)!"

"Wow!" Yukio cried. "Nice job! I don't think I've seen him before! Is he new or…?"

Yukino smiled. "Yeah, he was released in English a couple months ago. This card has taken the longest to go from the TCG to the OCG, and I'm talking a stupid long time. Like 11 or 12 years. But now that I have him, but deck is almost complete! Destroy his wolf! Inferno Meteor!" The dragon did not take a deep breath, or pull his head back. It tucked its wings into its body and knelt down. It let out a massive roar as its body was engulfed in flames. It rocketed towards the still dazed wolf pup, a giant flaming missile about to tear through wet tissue paper.

"Trap card open! Deus ex Evolution!" Yukio cried. "When all hope seems lost, that is when victory is most definitely assured! A hero cannot lose after all. That's not how it works. When a Mon-Monster I control is attack by a monster with an attack difference of over 1000 I can special summon a second Mon-Monster from my deck in his place!"

The little wolf stood his ground as a bright aura surrounded him. He was enveloped in a cocoon of light, the dragon hitting it head on. It clawed at the sphere of light, but with a great howl from the wolf he was pushed back! The cocoon shattered, revealing a tall wolf in its place. The claws and collar, which had looked almost comically large on him before, now fit perfectly (2500/2000).

"When summoned using a spell or trap effect, Mon-Monster: Jet Wolf retains all of the cards equipped to him before his evolution (3500/2000)."

"I'm not done yet!" Yukino cried.

"Oh? Show me more then."

"I activate my spell card, Double-Up Chance! When one attack I try is unsuccessful, I can use this card to double the monster's attack and attack once more (7000/2000)! Red-Eyes and I aren't to be messed with! Go, Inferno Meteor!" The dragon lunged forward and tackled the wolf to the ground. He kept charging, striking Yukio as the aura hit its peak and exploded around them.

Yukio: 500

Yukio smiled as the smoke began to clear. "Thank you Yukino." He said with a smile. "After all, a hero can only win when there's a sufficient amount of drama. Right?"

I apologize if any of the formatting on this chapter is weird. Word was really acting up, but at least I got it done! It's strange. I have no real affinity for Water, but I almost always have a deck focused on Water monsters. So writing Lila's duel was really fun, and seeing the combos one can make with Vylons is pretty cool too. The Mon-Monster cards are my own creation. We'll be seeing more of those soon. In the mean time, anybody in particular you'd like to see duel? I'm taking suggestions at this time, sort of.


End file.
